Mr. Jerry Rawlings, President of the Republic of Ghana and Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) last Wednesday morning held a meeting with Officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) at the Air Force Station in Accra. The Agenda was to deliberate on issues affecting the 2000 elections and the role of the Security Services in the democratic transition Ghana is presently going through after almost 19 years of a Rawlings (PNDC) reign.
Crusading GUIDE sources within the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) have intimated to this paper that the President who was accompanied to the meeting by some of his government and Party colleagues, including the discredited Issaka Inusah, used the occasion to pour scorn and invectives on his political opponents and the independent media, blaming them for all the difficulties and omissions of his regime.
Our sources who spoke to us on condition of anonymity, revealed that President Rawlings told the officers and men not to countenance an opposition victory at the December 7 elections because an opposition government would terminate the participation of Ghanaian soldiers in UN Peace Keeping operations. Mr. Rawlings argued that the opposition or minority parties were not interested in protecting and sustaining the welfare of the soldiers, and thus cautioned them to be on the guard against them (oppositions parties).
He reminded the soldiers of the hard days of the past and pointed out that his government's economic policies have created an environment within which soldiers now use fridges, television sets and video decks in the barracks and their homes, a sign, according to him of the rise in their standard of living. The President also cautioned the soldiers against opposition victory, saying a government formed by the minority, would take steps to abort the transport business of the soldiers who are running their own commercial transport business. He claimed these details are contained in a secret report available to his government.
Our sources indicated that though the President's speech did not draw any applause from his audience, he appeared not be concerned about the eerier silence that greeted his rabble rousing pronouncements. Sounding more serious, the President informed his audience that soldiers will be deployed in mufti to monitor the elections in the various polling stations, and hinted that those soldiers are under explicit instructions to intervene to restore law and order if and when anything goes wrong. He underscored that some of these soldiers will be in Police uniforms.
Already our sources further revealed some of the Security Immigration Personnel stationed at the Arrival Hall of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) who are wearing the Police Black overalls are all indeed soldiers mainly from the 64 Infantry Regiment. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) also intimated that soldiers in plain cloths would be deployed to various polling stations in the Ashanti and Eastern Regions. A Senior Military Officer lamented that Mr. Rawlings obviously underestimated their level of intelligence when he asked them to check-mate their wives because he (Rawlings) suspected that they (wives of soldiers) had been "bought" by the opposition or minority parties.
What does he think of our families and us. He even said he would not be surprise if the opposition too may have bought us the soldiers. How can our Commander-in-Chief talk in that manner and expect us to go home and sleep well. This is unacceptable and unprofessional, lamented a senior military officer who spoke to us on condition of strict confidentiality.
This senior officer decried the fact Alhaji Inusah was given almost 35 minutes to waste their ears on that occasion when they would have been doing something more positive and constructive. He said the President at one stage sounded completely incoherent, inarticulate and unintelligible and nobody could follow his trend of thought. "He talked of his last trip to Europe, Scotland to be specific, and the Scottish media's exposure of the accident involving a Scotsman at '37' and claimed that his clarification helped debunk the falsehood peddled by the Scottish media before his trip. He then quickly shifted to something to do with his half-sister and their father's grave as well as the cocaine story involving his wife none of those things made sense to us but we have no choice but to listen to his incoherent noises. Indeed most of us were dozing at that point in time, and it was indeed pathetic that he couldn't even discern that, quipped the frustrated Senior Air Force man.
He expressed regret that GTV and other media houses present were not allowed to record the President's entire speech for public consumption pointing out that a play-back of what the President told the soldiers would have helped Ghanaians to make a better judgment of his state of mind and whether he (Rawlings) indeed really is ready to respect the constitutional verdict of the Ghanaian electorate.
A Junior Officer of the 64 Infantry Regiment was not happy about how the President treated a Warrant Officer who is suffering from a partial stroke. "He warned the Warrant Officer twice because he thought the guy was sleeping and then ordered that some coffee should be prepared for the man. This provoked laughter all over the place but his insistence and warning were not in the Warrant Officer's interest, medically. It did not make sense," he charged.
The Junior Officer said Mr. Rawlings also launched a blistering albeit incoherent attack on the professional integrity of Captain (rtd) Efah Dartey of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), for his defence of RUF rebel leader, Foday Sankoh. He also spoke of how he nearly once beat up Sankoh.
Rawlings also virtually gave the green light to Service Personnel to phone in to radio programmes on the private FM stations to correct what he saw as wrong or false stories. He recalled an instance where one of Nana Konadu's bodyguard called into a radio programme to challenge a statement made by a Kufuor bodyguard who was a former soldier and a returnee from Liberia.
While conceding that that was not normally allowed by military convention, he made it clear that sometimes it was necessary to allow such things to happen, in order to stop the campaign of lies of the minority parties. He advised the Military High Command to show some understanding for such situations. The Commander-in-Chief also used the occasion to explain the continued presence of some aging Warrant Officers in the Armed Forces. Most of these aging Warrant Officers were his main source of support for his second coming i.e December 31, 1981.
The continued presence of these Warrant Officers mostly Ewes have created problems of accommodation, promotion, etc in the system and the Commander-in-Chief keenly aware of the problems this is causing within the system attempting to rationalize and justify their continued presence to no avail. He acknowledged the role of these Warrant Officers in his past 'revolutions'. He warned that some opposition elements may want to influence younger elements in the Forces to agitate for the removal of these aging Warrant Officers.
Another rank of the 5th Battalion, who also preferred not to be identified, was angry that the President attempted to throw dust into their eyes by suggesting that many voters in the Volta Region were being disenfranchised under the pretext that some Togolese were being prevented from partaking in the Ghanaian elections.
He said Mr. Rawlings also said that the recent National Security Council meeting was held at the instance of General Anyidoho, a development, he (other rank) found intriguing. The other rank also felt sad that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Ben Akafia virtually endorsed the president's position when he took the stage to make his observations. The CDS said the military was at a crossroads, and must be ready for action. He called on all Service Commanders to be ready for directives and action and claimed that the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) had been targeted by the opposition for attack. This was incredible to some of us but who could protest? Nobody, he lamented.
He said the well-respected CDS for once disappointed them (soldiers) when he appeared to render support to the intriguing and potentially dangerous views and positions of the Commander-in-Chief. He said after the meeting with the Commander-in-Chief the Officers and men were treated to some drinks. "There were about 20 fridges full of drinks and all of us had our fill. In any case, whose money was being used? And can the opposition also be given the same opportunity? He queried.
