The history of this land reveals a people who are very submissive to tyrants but would flex muscles at law-abiding and democratic loving leaders.
To this day, socialists in Ghana would vouch on their lives that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the best leader we ever had and will ever have. Yet, those were the days when anyone who dreamt anything negative about Nkrumah and his government would find themselves in jail without trial. The Preventive Detention Act (PDA) and False Report Act would make sure that, that unfortunate fellow, become the guest of the state.
Even our traditional leaders had no right to enstool or enskin chiefs or to remove them from the stool and skin without a go-ahead from government. The Chief Recognition Bill made sure of that. No one, no single Ghanaian, except the minority UP members spoke and either got jailed or had to escape into exile.
In August 1962, when there was an attempt on Nkrumah’s life at Kulungugu, the Supreme Court tried the suspects, namely Tawiah Adamafio, Ako Adjei (both were cabinet ministers in Nkrumah’s government) and C.S. Crabbe who was a national executive officer in the Convention People’s Party. The others were Robert Otchere UP MP for Amansie East and Yaw Manu, a UP activist.
The CPP elements were found not guilty and with this Nkrumah, dismissed all the trial judges from the judiciaryand appointed new ones who found the three guilty to the delight of Kwame Nkrumah. To this day the socialists are claiming elements of the UP Tradition plotted to kill Nkrumah in Kulungugu, even though all pointed out that the assassination attempt was a plot from within the CPP.
If indeed the three senior members of the party, made up of two cabinet ministers and one national officer, were not guilty, then what formed Nkrumah’s mind to make sure they were found guilty? It could be possible that some powers that be in the party had plotted this but influenced Nkrumah to find the three innocent men, guilty. If indeed they were guilty, then why did they want Nkrumah dead? In whatever way one looked at it, it clearly points out the plotted was from the CPP.
When Prime Minister Busia spoke out against a court verdict, stating that “No Court, No Court” could compel him to work with somebody, all hell broke loose. The socialists to this day, attack the UPists saying Busia said the unthinkable. What was more unthinkable than dismissing judges from office because their verdict was not what Nkrumah wanted?
We hear “Nkrumah never dies,” which is translated to mean that everything he did was acceptable and good for the nation. The question to the socialists is, would they accept a one-party state today? Also, would they accept to be thrown to jail without trial? What about government appointing chiefs in our traditional areas?
Truth be told, violence was first introduced into Ghana politics by the CPP in 1958. During a misunderstanding, in Kumasi, between two gentlemen from two different political factions, K.A. Twumasi Ankrah of the CPP, stabbed, E.Y. Baffoe of the NLM, to death. This sparked off the conflicts in the Ashanti region. Instead of looking at the origin of the problem, socialists have demonised people of Ashanti to this day, associating them to be unruly and riotous.
Today,Ghanaians choose to attack the reaction but are very silent on the action.As things went on, Rawlings gate-crashed into the governance sector and he made very wild statements not fit to be coming from a leader.
Rawlings in his wild and reckless mood, came out with a new political theory called The Democratisation of Violence. What has violence got to do in democracy? He explained this by educating Ghanaians that two factions with differences, can only peacefully resolve the misunderstanding between them, if they both pick up arms. Is, gun necessary? And what if one faction does not have a gun?
The socialists hailed Rawlings for speaking words of wisdom. And from this mess, apolitical tradition of violence was born, the PNDC and the NDC. And as it is all followers of this tradition adore and loves violence, yet Ghanaians are silent, too scared to discipline this group.
During the 1992 Election Campaign, the then First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and Tony Aidoo, at a political durbar, warned the people that if they do not vote NDC, air force planes would come and bomb their communities.
That words and act of violence are in the blood of the NDC, and Ghanaians saw what happened in 2012 during the registration of voters. Some NDC thugs in the Central Business district of Accra decided to stop Akans from registering. They used brute force to send prospective voters away. When Hon Ursula Owusu wanted to insist that people should register, she was beaten up to pulp, under the watch of the police.
Ghanaians heard this but kept quiet. It was only when Hon. Kennedy Agyapong came out to say that if this was how things were going to be, then Gas and Ewes resident in Akan lands should also be beaten up, that there was Red Alert.
Ghanaians, cowards as we are, decided to attack the action and Kennedy was arrested and briefly put behind bars. Ethnicism went up high and all Akans were branded a class of violent people. No one dared to mention anything about Gas or even anything about the NDC thugs from the Accra Business District.
Earlier in the administration of the NDC regime, during bye-elections in Chereponi, Akwatia and Atiwa, the NDC effortlessly showed-case their talent in violence.
In Akwatia, in August 2009, NDC thugs attacked NPP leaders injuring them even in the presence of the police, who looked on doing nothing.
In Chereponi in September 2009, it was alleged that Hon. Thomas Kwesi Nasah, the NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Gushegu, opened fire on the unprovoked members of New Patriotic Party (NPP) while supporters of his party kept throwing stones at the opponents.
Then in Atiwa, in August 2010, the NDC brought in its private army, the Azoka Boys and violently and physically assaulted innocent indigenes. This group went round from polling station to polling station, under the protection of the police, beating up every human in sight. The NDC ended it all with their national women’s organiser, Anita De-Souza, driving her Toyota Prado SUV through a human beings, crushing a lot of them.
There and then the youth of Atiwa rose up, without any weapon, rushed on the invaders and chased the well-armed Azoka Boys into the bush. The police this time came in to protect the NDC thugs.
It was in commending the Atiwa youth that H.E. Nana Addo, then a private citizen, said the Atiwa youth adopted the inspiring saying, “All-Die-Be-Die.” And here all Ghanaians condemned him and forgot that it was this inspiring statement that made some people fight for our independence.
No one seem to care about what happened to those crushed by Anita De-Souza. Everyone suddenly saw H.E. Nana Addo as the violent one.
The leader of the main opposition party, H.E. John Dramani Mahama, could come and remind Ghanaians that the root of the NDC is violence and no-one, no group of people, in Ghana can match the NDC when it comes to violence.
A former chairman of that party, Hon. Ofosu-Ampofo was caught on tape directing some members to go and attack and even kill some key important people in society. He is in court, trying to explain why he should be acquitted and discharged.
One Alhaji Mohammed Nasiru an NDC communications officer, loudly spelt it out on AFRI TV, that it has gotten to the time to kill people, to protect our democracy. Is he actually referring to the democracy of this country or the democracy in the middle name of the NDC?
The NDC’s John Dramani Mahama, came out to emphatically say that Election 2024 will be a Die-or-Die affair and that the NDC will use any means to win the elections. And he never ruled our violence, and Chairman Asiedu Nketia laid emphasis on employing acts of violence to win 2024, even if it resulted to death.
In all this no Ghanaian came out to condemn the NDC, then came NPP’s Byran Acheampong who said and I quote, “NDC party will collapse. If the NDC dares to use threats, violence and foolishness in the 2024 election, we will let them know we have the men. We will show them that we have the men. We have the men! It will never happen that we, the NPP, will stand on a platform to hand over power to the NDC. It will never happen! We will make sure NPP remains in government at all cost”.
But the NDC in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey, slammed the MP and accused the NPP of attempting to subvert the will of the people in 2024.
Suddenly Ghanaians went crazy again and many are cowards who are out accusing Byran Acheampong in particular and the NPP in general as being violent and determined to subvert the will of the people.
It is okay for the NDC to promise Ghanaians that since it is a party born out of violence, it will use violence, even if it meant losing lives, to win Election 2024. But it is wrong for the NPP to promise the NDC that if it does anything relating to violence, threats and foolishness, during Elections 2024, it will be met with equal force.
When will Ghanaians wake up and say enough is enough of these unacceptable acts of violence, intimidation, etc., etc., of the socialist tyrants in Ghana? And when will Ghanaians, attack the action, the source, instead of only attacking the reaction?
When will Ghanaians stand up against our local socialists, especially the NDC, and condemn them for their words and acts of violence?
Hon. Daniel Dugan.
