Foot Soldiers or Soldiers of Fortune?

The depilated shop of the local welder at Zenu lies on the untarred road leading from Zenu to Atadaka a sprawling shanty town close to Ashiaman. Almost each day, workmen building a small hotel facility for our company at Zenu converge around the shade near the welding shop to discuss, debate and analyze political and economic issues affecting the country. When I have time on my hands, I joined in the lively, interesting and thought provoking discussion which enables me to measure the heartbeat of the nation.

To experience how it feels to be a disenfranchised and marginalised “foot-soldier”, likely to be arrested if you dare ask for the chance to work in contemporary Ghana, walk in the shoes of Ibrahim a die- hard foot soldier of one of the main political parties. Today is August 7th 2010 and after a hot meal of tuo zafi and the usual “local gin” Ibrahim and his friends are involved in their usual heated discussion on the state of the country.

Ibrahim started by castigating and damning Peace FM for broadcasting the NPP leadership contest live on radio. Why waste our time ask Ibrahim? They are all the same, all the same whether NPP/NDC/CPP/PNC or Kofi Wayo- all the same. Togo a short, handsome, elegant unemployed labourer joined in the discussions with his characteristic bluntness and candour. “Hey, Ibrahim, for me I no go vote again, I no go spend my time arguing and campaigning just to make enemies”. Even the Gari- seller who in the past use to lend me the odd cedi has stopped this benevolent act as she thinks I am on the other side. Atta, a strongly built unemployed carpenter quips in hmm- “make we drink for me I dey wait for 2012. Leave am, this Peace FM, they have nothing proper to do than to broadcast the results of the leadership contest of these bankrupt politicians. Taller- a thin skeleton with a goatee beard balanced awkwardly on his big head joins in the fray – my brothers they are all the same. Look at our toilets, schools, roads and infrastructure at Ashiaman and when it rains it feels you are sleeping with Maame water.

Ibrahim quipped in again, how about jobs- not a single job has been created for any of us unskilled and illiterate people in Zenu- my friend let us drink our local gin and stop wasting our breath and energy on the politicians. Look at how they disgracefully arrested Shakespeare Ofori Atta a foot soldier just making noises on the radio. At this stage I summoned the courage to intervene, with the intention of sharing my party activist experiences in Stockport, United Kingdom. My brothers I said “it is the same in the United Kingdom- during the bad old days of Margaret Thatcher; I was a young foot soldier for the Labour party but had no trophies to show for”. Ibrahim quickly interjected “What master - do not compare the plight of foot-soldiers in the UK to our miserable, wretched existence in Ghana”. Would a party activist be arrested in the UK for demanding the right to work? Would a party activist in the UK be harassed and criminalised for expressing his frustration at political institutions? Would the security forces be unleashed on party activists for asking how contracts are procured? Would the whole political elite jumped on the bandwagon and criminalise young people for just demanding the right to be consulted? Haba Daddy, spare us never compare that place to this place. There followed some expletives about Ghanaian politicians which I do not intend to re-produce.

Lawlessness or Frustration?

What has gone wrong with our body politic? Why do so many young people feel so let down? Why is there a palpable sense of frustration, hopelessness and anger among our huge pool of unemployed, unemployable young people? For the purposes of this article, let us assume that reducing poverty and creating jobs remains the core mission of any pro- poor Government. If that be the case, then it beholds on pro- poor regimes to devise and apply consistent, even handed criteria in its dealings with the poor, unemployed, party activists and the people of the slums.

Ordinary Ghanaians and residents of Fadama, Nima, Ashiaman and other shanty towns have to bear the burden of inept government policies which creates huge pool of unskilled, unemployable and non- functional citizens. These groups of people do not deserve to be penalised if they vent out their frustration on a system that had the responsibility to sustain their futures but have failed miserably in that task.

I want to state clearly and loudly, that I do not condone the activities of young people, party activists or foot soldiers who under the guise of unemployment take the law into their own hands. Rule based, predictable legal regimes are essential to the proper functioning of a democratic society. A judiciary independent from executive meddling is vital to ensure that the legislative and executive remain fully accountable under the law, and to interpret and enforce the terms of the constitution. What constitutional mandate did the Okyenhene use to arrest Mr Ofori Atta? Is the reliability of the rule of law going to be determined by the political context? The state cannot rely on security agencies, traditional chiefs and judicial institution to address what is fundamentally and essentially a political problem.

In short, the elite and the ruling establishment cannot forever assume that the demonization of the poor as thieves, scoundrels, and illiterates, non- intelligent can last forever. All governments must realise that a combination of broken promises, political alliances, rising expectations, rapid expansion of higher education leading to the creation of a huge pool of unemployed young people and frustrated party activists has allowed foot soldiers to emerge as spokespersons for the marginalised and disenfranchised. The sense of betrayal by all young people not just foot soldiers has led to their frustration and total lack of confidence in the political system and political institutions.

Demonising Foot Soldiers/Party activists

The ruling elite in Ghana have managed successfully to brand all forms of legitimate political grievances by the youth, party activist and ordinary folks as a challenge to the authority of the state. What a charade? How can the genuine cries of a few young, unemployed, disgruntled people at Yendi, Ahafo Ano, and Abuakwa change the status quo? How can party activists clamouring for accountability and demanding transparency in public policy making harm the body politic? How can the demand of ownership of local development projects by local people create anarchy in our society? It is when we restrict participation in policy making that weakens the legitimacy, accountability and the quality of decisions made at the local level.

It is rather unfortunate that the response by the elite to the legitimate concerns of our young people has been to extricate policy from politics, assuming that politics can be separated in the process of public policy making. In effect- “campaign and vote for us but do not dare to articulate your concerns when we are in power or we will show you where power lies”- how sad. Whilst democracy tends to refer to the legitimacy of the ruling government the cries of the foot soldiers refers to the effectiveness, efficiency and fairness of government.

There is no need for the ruling elite, political classes, military and police hierarchy and all other well established institutions to demonise the actions of the foot- soldiers. Like any organised group they are right to hold responsible their elected representative for the fundamental weakness in governance institutions. Good governments do not criminalise party activists, foot soldiers or young unemployed people. Progressive Governments strive to produce effective, sustainable, job creation economic and social policies. Social democratic governments tend to provide effective and stable institutional and procedural mechanisms to represent interests, arbitrate on disputes between hapless, unemployed foot soldiers and government functionaries. That is the purpose and role of progressive regimes. Collective Failure-Short Terminism As a nation that is consumed with short term ideas we are in danger of not being able to pursue any long term purposes for the future generation. Our national psyche delights in bashing each other and giving ourselves awards for gargantuan failures. Our car stickers and banners all portray a society that is interested in self glorification and illusions of deluded importance. Panellists on morning radio and television programs do not discuss, debate, analyze any long term serious economic issues.

They pick up daily pieces of crap issues and analyse it in a bi-partisan manner. Not a single programme on Ghana’s airwaves has considered our relationship with time. We are consumely absorbed with short terminism, and completely absorbed with immediate gains, rather than debating and investing in the future.

There has been a collective failure of all state institutions in addressing the issues of the youth and foot soldiers. As a nation we have not yet resolved the central issue of the participation of ordinary people including foot soldiers in public policy making. There is no doubt in my mind that if there was an effective voice and real public accountability in public decision making there would have been a greater efficacy in government actions and a fairer and more efficient allocation of resources. Conclusion As a nation we must recognise the genuine needs of the young people and so called foot soldiers. All the major national parties and government must re-visit their consciences and check whether the “political consensus” of demonising the poor, underclass, unemployed and dispossessed is sustainable in the long- term. Government must consolidate democracy beyond elections and strengthen the institutions of governance by enhancing accountability and ensuring a transparent process of governance. For example, the government could have involved young people and foot soldiers in their deliberations with the South Koreans on the massive house- building programme.

Ibrahim and his friends could have passed on the message to their contemporaries on the benefits of the South Korea deal and diffused the tensions that followed. Depending on your political stance Ghanaian foot soldiers like their counterparts in the movie “Dogs of War” can be described as “Soldiers of Fortune” or Mercenaries. Both groups are on a mission to secure their livelihoods, to be able to feed their families- a natural human instinct that is common to all mankind and the animal kingdom.

Kufuor, Appiah-Danquah