A striving democracy and burgeoning economy does not happen in a vacuum nor by
accident: It takes "strong men" to build strong institutions, that become the strong
pillars upon which a strong and prosperous economy and a strong society is built.
It is just unfortunate that when times are good, people quickly forget how bad
things used to be: it is therefore not surprising that some of the very people (
i.e., Kweku Baaku) who were chanting the infamous slogans, "Let the blood flow!!"...
"Let the blood flow!!"...."Aluta Continua....Free The Man, Free The Man!!," are the
very people who are quick to condemn the very catalyst and personification of that
very much needed revolution (JJ Rawlings, that is).
To add insult to injuries, the very tag-alongs and beneficiaries or opportunists who
were plugged from obscurity to be granted a pedestal in the political stage, are
now condemning and desecrating the very founder and leader of the very political
movement that gave them prominence in Ghana's political history. It's a shame, a
crying shame!
The complete story of June 4th cannot be told without an honest recount/reminder of
the horrible and morbid conditions that prevailed at the time and, needless to say,
necessitated that fateful uprising/revolt/revolution.
Of that, I mean the incredible level of desperation and destitution (the feeling of
helplessness and hopelessness) that had become the way of life at the time, or at
least, as a least a decade and a half before then.
For starters: Lest we forget, from 1966, after the ouster of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah,
there was a coup d'etat or change of government every other year. In other words, at
the first or second anniversary of every positioned government, there was a new
government. Does that spell any form of security or social stability?
Let me clarity:
From the priceless archives of Ghanaweb.com (to give credit where credit is due and
to further remove any iota of doubts from the confucious minds of the naysayers),
[1966 - military overthrow of 1st republic (by the NLM, forbears of present day NPP)
1969 - 2nd republic, Busia of PP is PM, 2 key parties
(after the NLM banned the CPP from partaking in the election. This was led by NLM's
chief legal advisor, Edward Akuffo Addo, ironically, father of present day
flagbearer of the NPP, William (Nana) Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo)
1972 - military overthrow of 2nd republic
1978 - palace coup to restructure military government
1979 - junior officer uprising and military housecleaning
1979 - ushered third republic, Limann of PNP is President, 3 parties
1981 - overthrow of the constitutional PNP gov't by the PNDC military junta
1983 - Attempted overthrow of the PNDC junta by other junior army men 1992 -
Rawlings of NDC is Dem elected as President, 2 parties **]
That does not include the fact that in 1967, around the one year anniversary of the
overthrow of the Nkrumah government, Emmanuel Kotoka -who led the coup-- was
assassinated, and about another year or two thereafter, CK Harley?, who was
supposedly responsible for Kotoka's assassination was also assassinated!!!
Where is the sense of "stability" in such a nation!!!!
Now, let's couple such with economic doldrums/shambles/ unbearable
under-development/arrested development/retrogression/social and economic
degeneration that the nation found itself due to the series of military
interventions and equally incompetent quasi-democratic civil regimes all of who took
turns in festering, aiding and abating the life-threatening level of corruption and
mismanagement of nation's affairs...with the exception of the governments of JJ
Rawlings which brought a clear departure from the abominable norms of the times.
Need I mention the collapsed industries?
Need I mention all the abandoned progressive developmental projects of Dr. Kwame
Nkrumah?
Need I mention the collapsed factories and institutions?
Need I mention the horrible or non-existent transportation infrustructure, where to
travel from one regional capital to another or to the national capital --an hour's
journey-- took almost a whole DAY, if not more?
What about the pervasive hoarding of locally-produced and imported food, goods, and
general merchandises in order to induce artificial inflation just to be sold at
astronomical prices while the merchants made unbelievable profit. It was called
"Kalabule" and it was the culture at the time.
Oh, oh... What about all those businesses that were raking in unimaginable profits
and yet paid NO TAXES whatsoever?
Need I go on....?
Although our beloved nation is still bedeviled by so many challenges, most of these
aforementioned challenges are now a thing of the past; however, that is still the
frightening reality of most of our sub-Saharan African neighbors.
So, my heart bleeds --and boy does it bleed profusely-- for JJ Rawlings when
opportunist and beneficiaries of his legacy are quick to discard the very legacy
that other countries in Africa are yearning for.
So unbearable was the situation that by the time Rawlings re-emerged in the dawn of
1982, of the approximate 12 million population, some two million alone had seek
refuge in neighboring Nigeria! Not to mention the millions more in Houphuet Boigny's
blossoming Abidjan the commercial capital of la Cote D'Ivoire.
In a nutshell, the June 4th Uprising affected the immediate leadership of the
previous governments, the change thereof, and power was handed over in six months
after election, as was promised!
Notwithstanding, two years into this new government it became more apparent that the
problem of Ghana was rather systemic and sociological (tribalism, greed) and
institutional, hence the second coming was necessitated to purge the system of these
corruption profiteers and their neo-colonialist brethren in order to facilitate the
reconstruction of a new Ghana: a grand, sacrificial initiative that most of
Rawlings' critics and opponents secretly acknowledged to be of significant
importance to the peaceful, equitable, and economically viable entity that Ghana has
come represent. In deed, a nation of great potential (ankasa) that selfless
nationalists and social democrats (NDC) and pervasive and predatory
pseudo-capitalists (NPP) alike want to take control of, and rightfully so.
The relative tranquility and stability (though, now questionable) and equity that
the opposition NPP has come to enjoy (instead of the good people of Ghana) would not
have existed if not for the toils and real sacrifices of the P/NDC in eradicating
the nation of the rots/corruption/kalabule, the very shambles that were created by
the Danquah-Busia-Dombo neo-colonial fallacy after the untimely demise of the Great
Kwame Nkrumah.
Looking at all the neighbors of Ghana (Togo, Benin, Cote D'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra
Leone, even Nigeria) there has been changes of government, but none of these
governments enjoys the kind of political and economical goodwill of the
international community, not to mention the generosity, and political credibility
and stability that NPP boasts of to be of its own making.
Even Gnansingbe Eyadema of Togo was holding elections, shams as they may be. So it
begs the solemn questions: were there not elections being held in all these other
African countries? So what makes Ghana's unique and worthy of praise and to be
exalted as a "model" on the African continent?
The question still remains, why Ghana?
Tell me political stability and democratic credentials have nothing whatsoever to
do with attracting international investments.
And can one applaud the stability and social progresses that Ghana enjoys, without
directly and/or indirectly applauding the ingenuity and immeasurable sacrifice of JJ
Rawlings and his eminent cohorts?
See, what Rawlings' adversaries find so difficult to admit is that the Rawlings
Revolutions gave birth to or, at least, laid the solid foundation for Ghana's
democracy and current political stability and its relative economic progress.
As aforementioned, having taken this trip down memory lane, there is no doubt that
Ghana was a lawless nation before that fateful day....people lived in absolute
fear/horror. So, when JJ stood up and demonstrated his
ready-to-die-for-mother-Ghana galantry/valor that the masses never thought existed
any longer, they hailed him waaa, and no one need be convinced that the man was
heaven-sent.... as he still is!
In conclusion, some twelve years after his exit from power, JJ Rawlings still has an
audience, a very huge audience. And why is that, you might ask?
In times of injustice, in times of hopelessness and helplessness, the people need a
VOICE... and JJ Rawlings is that VOICE! The Voice of the Masses!
JJ Rawlings: Man of Valor, Man of Truth, Man of Principle!
May God, Allah, and the Soul of our Forefathers continue to exalt this Illustrious
Son of the Land.
Long Live the Revolutionary Spirit of June Fourth
Long Live the Real and Revolutionary NDC
Long Live Jerry John Rawlings
Long Live Mother Ghana
Fela O Fela : Guardian of the Revolution!
Felaofela@gmail.com
