Ghana has had five successful coup d’états in her chequered history – February, 1966; January 1972; July 1978; June 1979 and December 1981. In all four were led and executed by the pro-socialists. What is most interesting is that the socialists and Nkrumaists in Ghana came with all kinds of reasons to condemn the first coup, which was led by pro-capitalists: it was uncalled; it halted Ghana’s developmental agenda; it was instituted with direct help from the West; it was the coup that introduced coups into this country.
To date, none of the Nkrumaists and Socialists in this country has come to condemn the December 31, 1981 coup, which was the coup that toppled the only united Nkrumaist government apart from the original Convention Peoples Party (CPP), and what more, Libya played a huge and open role in this coup, which had socialists toppling a socialist government. The Libyans even had a military base in Ghana, and its soldiers could even harass and beat up Ghanaians, here, in their own country. Ghaddafi became our god, and he even had the effrontery to pull down our president’s portraits on all the walls of a facility in Kumasi he went to lodge in, and replaced them with his own. The socialists, and the then National Democratic Congress (NDC) government under Jerry John Rawlings, could not offer any protest.
The socialists in Ghana are meanwhile up in arms with the United Party (UP) traditionalists on this issue of the founder(s) of the nation. The UPs claim Nkrumah was one of the founders and had history and data to back them. The socialists claim Nkrumah was the only founder and claim the UP traditionalists had wanted to relegate Nkrumah to the background, or even out of history.
All said, no Nkrumaist or socialist has had courage to call Jerry John Rawlings to order, when he said all Nkrumah did for Ghana was to give us a national flag and national anthem. That statement alone meant Nkrumah was a nobody, and certainly not a founder.
The Nkrumaists, as earlier stated, claim to this day, that the February, 1966 coup that ousted Nkrumah and his CPP government from power halted our road to development. Of our 63 years of independence, Nkrumah’s CPP had nine years. Of the remaining 54 years, the pro-socialists have ruled this country for 36 years, and the pro-capitalists have and are ruling for only 18 years. There was even twenty-two uninterrupted years for the socialists, which is more than twice the years Nkrumah had, and yet they could not get back on track the so-called Nkrumah developmental agenda.
We are talking about coups here, so let me shelve these things about development, founder(s) and what-have-you.
In his book ‘When Gun Rules’, Col Abaka Jackson threw light on the reason behind the June 4 coup. The socialists decided to stage a final coup to get capitalism out of the system, once and for all. This, they had started plotting many years before June 4. Then Major Boakye-Gyan (Rtd), in an interview on television, confirmed this and stated that they had marked 1988 for this mother of all coups, for about that time, they would have been high ranking officers in the Ghana Armed Forces. However, Rawlings wanted it earlier, hence his May 15, 1979 attempt, which was foiled and resulted in the successful June 4 coup.
From this, it is clear that there was no need for June 4, because one of the major reasons the coupists gave was that it was a coup to topple a regime that had toppled a constitutional one. Clearly, this is where the deception comes in. The January 1972 toppled a constitutional government, and July 1978 (a palace coup) toppled that illegitimate military regime. So where in the equation does June 4 come in? Moreover, the then military administration was just weeks away from organising General Elections to usher in civilian rule.
The June 4 coup came with so many self-accolades, all hinging on a campaign against corruption and abuse of office, yet it left, misplacing huge sums of money it collected from tax evaders, and had lodged into an account, Account 48, which only its membership were signatories to.
The June 4 coup came to kill people who had worked hard and earned good money and were living well, and today, the leader of that revolution has acquired so much property and prestige surpassing any other ruler in Ghana, properties of which he cannot account for.
The June 4 coupists were paid ex-gratia in millions of dollars for only three months of public service, amounting to many times more than a Member of Parliament (MP) can collect for four years of public service. Some of them decided to better their lives and status, and so went abroad. Only one remained, a very cunning and tactful one, this fellow. He felt, why go for the golden eggs when the hen that lays them can be grabbed. And, indeed, he grabbed that hen on December 31, 1981, completely violating one of the tenets of June 4 – the last of all coups.
So, looking at the activities of June 4, one can easily assign them to acts of armed robbery. Of course, the coupists used arms to rob this country off its destiny.
As we speak, one of the kingpins of June 4 is sounding the alarm that they or he will strike again. In this case, as has been earlier, any excuse will do, any excuse, no matter how lame or stupid. This time, the Electoral Commissioner has decided to compile a new voters’ register, and Major Boakye-Gyan is telling us that it can throw this country into a civil war, whatever, for? What at all in the compilation of a voters’ register can lead this country into a civil war?
And with this, my dear friend, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, is on air saying he supports what the retired army officer said. His reason was since Boakye-Gyan has staged a coup before he can see recipes for coups when they are coming.
Is Johnson Asiedu Nketia saying that when an accomplished armed robber warns that since people are going to receive sums of money from Covid-19 relief funds, robbery is going to take place, and we must congratulate this armed robber for speaking well and decently?
Thank you, Mosquito-General Johnson Asiedu Nketia for unconsciously revealing what you and your folks have in store for Ghana, should the compilation of the voters’ register take place.
Author: Hon. Daniel Dugan
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s editorial stance.
The post Asiedu Nketia: In praises of an Armed Robber appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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