Rawlings-The Idi Amin of Ghana- A Rejoinder

Agoo: Dzakpata Be Deviwo Me Nya Eku O. Gbeto Le Asi To Mawufe Nwoti Ta.

I couldn’t help but shrug my shoulders in utter disbelief when I read Kumasi Abrantea’s spiteful piece of writing on Chairman Rawlings. Was I surprised by the author’s lack of grasp on Ghana’s political developments? Absolutely, not. In democratic Ghanaian politics, it is not unusual to see, and read, off-centered accounts from faceless actors who exploit the generousity of cyber-technology to express their quaint views on socio-political matters.

Kumasi Abrantea stated in his article that, “Rawlings and his men massacred thousands of Ghanaians with impunity.” I find the author’s account on numbers to be very interesting. Thousands? Where did Chairman Rawlings bury the imaginary “thousands”? I hope, in response to my query, the author would not come to tell me that the dead were fed to crocodiles. Well, Mr. Abrantea, the Gulf of Guinea does not breed crocodiles. In the preceding months to December general elections, we are seeing a persistent onslaught by certain nomadic minds to discredit Chairman Rawlings and his NDC party. Can Kumasi Abrantea give us the names of the victims whose cause he has taken with such a strength of mind? If not, then the author, unfortunately, falls into the orbit of storytellers who lack the meta-analysis of history, yet play historians for the sake of partisan politics.

In the new post-Cold War order, would the international community stand unworried to watch an ex-president, who is accused of heinous atrocities, travel to the West, and other parts of the world, to address his international audience without being apprehended and prosecuted for his crime? If Abrantea’s contrived tales are true, which they aren’t, why can’t the Ghanaian government initiate a referendum to expunge the Indemnity Clause from the constitution and punish Chairman Rawlings of these alleged grave transgressions against the nation? What is the essence of having a state, and a government, if the two cannot fulfill Abrantea’s wishful hallucinations? They dare not for one simply reason; any attempt to do so, in my opinion, will splinter our nation into ethnic cantons, a cost that will far exceed the benefits of proposing and implementing a make-to-believe justice for the victims of the revolution.

To add some value to himself, the author stated that “a well-placed military intelligence source has described the barbaric murder of some of the Generals. This forum (i.e. Ghana web), is visited by far too many people, both Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians, for me to catalogue the horrific details. (Do not wash your dirty linen in public).” Well, I thought the author was bent on documenting Chairman Rawlings’ alleged violent murders to have him prosecuted for his criminal acts. Why did he suddenly backtrack if he believes in his made-up source? Or is the author trying to incite the public to do his bidding? Maybe, the faceless author can spare us the suspense, get his facts straight, and come back to us with his incontrovertible facts. Many attempts have been made, in the past, to harm the reputation of Chairman Rawlings, all to no avail. They all failed. Didn’t they?

Rather than blame Chairman Rawlings solely for the execution of the Generals, the author should do some research on the mood of the Ghanaian public during the short duration of the June 4th Revolution. While the revolutionary leadership do bear some responsibility for the some of the excesses that went on during the revolution, the Ghanaian public was/is partially responsible for the execution of these military officers. While I am not an expert, in punitive justice, to determine who gets what punishment, I am yet to see any Ghanaian who can beat his/her chest in denial that he/she did not support the revolution.

That said, one cannot also ignore the fact that, the Ghanaian army in the preceding years, and months, to the June 4th Revolution was in complete disarray. The incompetence of the executed generals was further manifested not only in the level of corruption in the country, but the lack of alertness on their part to suppress a back-to-back mutiny by junior military officers. How can we (en)trust our nation’s security with unskilled generals who sought refuge under their bed, and mango trees, when they heard martial songs played on the nation’s radio station? This was the appalling state of the Ghanaian military and the barefaced ineptitude of those at the helm of national affairs.

While the abduction and execution of Justices Cecilia Koranteng-Addo, Kwadwo Adjapong, Sarkodie, and a retired Army major, Sam Acquah was a travesty, and I mourn their death to this day, the author should not also forget that the perpetrators of the crime were tried and executed by firing squad. If the author has evidence to implicate Chairman Rawlings, and Captain (Rtd) Kojo Tsikata, whyfore wouldn't he exercise his civic responsibility and give the facts to the current government or the International Court of Justice? I thought Kumasi Abrantea is seeking justice. Isn’t he? After all, Chairman Rawlings is no longer a sitting president and can be hauled before our courts like any ordinary citizen.

In his never-ending wisdom, the author stated that “when Mr. Rawlings calls for boom let human blood flow, it reflects his insatiable thirst for bloodshed and proclivity to political cannibalism. The comparisons with Idi Amin are apt. Some segments of our culture see things differently. I wonder if some derive a measure of innate satisfaction from Rawlings savagery in Ghana.” First of all, I would like to know, from the author, where exactly, Chairman Rawlings call(ed) for blood, and whose blood? To make a specious claim for political reason(s) is a child’s game. Secondly, it is bizarre for any rational being to draw parallels between Chairman Rawlings and Idi Amin. I must also state that no one derives “satisfaction from Rawlings savagery.” To the contrary, those who defend Chairman Rawlings see in him a leader who possesses the courage to speak out his mind and is ready to defend the interest of his nation at all costs.

As part of his moral lectures, the author entreated us to “resist the oppressors’ rule.” While I applaud the author for encouraging us to do what is morally right, what has done to bring justice to Ya-Na, Alhaji Mobilla, and Ennin, a journalist was shot in plainview on suspicion that he was going publishing incriminating materials about the nation’s missing cocaine? We know those who warned the nation’s journalists to back off from the linking certain personalities to the missing cocaine or face their untimely death? The Kumasi Abranteas of this world cannot fight racism, and suborn sexism. They cannot preach moral virtues and enjoin earth vices. As a nation, we cannot hound the Chairman Rawlings like a fugitive and absolve a leadership under whose watch Ya-Na, Alhaji Mobilla and Ennin perished while the state turned its blind eye(s). The politics of see, hear, and speak no evil must stop for the greater good of our nation.

According to the author “consider Rawlings associations with "a well known health professional" in Accra, who was found to have murdered so many people, with missing body parts. Remember Rawlings' associations with shrines that perform sacrifices with human body parts. Remember the many young women who met their untimely deaths in Accra, again with missing body parts.” Is the author in the business of telling the world that Kumasi witches have horns and can fly, across international borders, at night, without biometric visas? When did introspection become a sought-after currency in contemporary scholarship and in the industry literary art? Who is this “a well known health professional” that the author is alluding to? When did Chairman Rawlings become a friend of Gbekle? Let me correct the all-knowing Abrantea that Gbekle is not “health professional.”

I don’t want to sound condescending; however, I am amazed by the shallowness of the author in not getting his facts in order. Was the preceding the reason why the current administration spent the taxpayers’ money to fumigate the Osu Castle with prayers? If an individual’s association with shines is an insurance against coups, then I will advise the present government to disband the Ministries of Defence and National Security and, rather, invest a fraction of the nation's defence budget on fetish shrines to prevent coups. Or, maybe, we can create an entire agency and name it the Ministry of “Edzoka.” What an interesting supposition from a deluded mind, for lack of a better word. Lastly, I would like to ask the author whether the missing women’s saga ended with a change of government. Let my nation be the judge and form its opinion on the insanity that is slowly eating the minds of some of our nation’s second-rate brains who think that their contribution to national politics makes them renowned pundits in democratic politics.

A nation that spends its time and resources on publicizing, and mistaking, the esoteric for a fact cannot compete with civilized nations. Let’s act with as smart beings and not superstitious followers who constantly mistake the stringing unformulated thoughts for a treatise. Interestingly, there is one among them who doesn’t even know the difference between a thesis and dissertation. Dzakpata Be Deviwo Me Nya Eku O. Gbeto Le Asi To Mawufe Nwoti Ta. Hope all is well. Good day and cheers.

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