Military juntas have failed to deliver any good to the people of Ghana – Addai-Nimoh – GhanaWeb

Former Member of Parliament for Asante Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh

Government must involve citizens in governance process to prevent coup dtat, Addai-Nimoh

We need to examine factors that led to the disruptions in our journey to development, Addai-Nimoh

Ghana marks 4th constitution day

A former Member of Parliament for Asante Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh, says for the country to preserve its democracy, there is a need for government to engage citizens in the governance process in order to prevent any possible coup dtat in the country.

According to him, this is necessary because the military juntas have failed to deliver any good to the people as they have disregarded the rule of law and rather focused on looting of state property.

In a Facebook post to commiserate constitution day, he said Interestingly, military juntas, in my view, have mostly failed to deliver any good to the people. Military juntas largely come with extrajudicial killings, looting of state resources, oppression of the people, and disregard for the rule of law. And that's why it's important to preserve our democracy through citizens' involvement in the governance process in order to kill any possibility of a coup dtat. On this day, let everyone reflect on our journey thus far, and identify what more we can do to improve our lots.

He added that the nation has enough reason to celebrate the fourth republic which has lasted for almost three decades.

Today is a Constitutional Day on the national calendar of our country. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the constitutional milestone of the 4th Republic. Considering that our history is replete with many disruptions of the constitutional order, we have every reason to celebrate the sustenance of the 4th Republic for almost three decades on this day.

He however indicated that government must consider factors that led to the disruption in the countrys journey to development.

In this vein, I subscribe to the theory that a stable democracy is the bedrock for national development. But, we need to begin to examine, after three decades of constitutional practice, what factors led to the disruptions in our journey to development. Are those factors present today? Have we consolidated our democracy hermetically to prevent another disruption? These questions are critical especially when West Africa is seeing a surge in military strongmen who are vacating the constitutions of their respective country.

Below is his post

I take this opportunity to wish all Ghanaians, far and near, a prosperous new year. No challenge is insurmountable and so, I have positive intuition that the challenges that ravaged 2021, would be surmounted in 2022.

Today is a Constitutional Day on the national calendar of our country. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the constitutional milestone of the 4th Republic. Considering that our history is replete with many disruptions of the constitutional order, we have every reason to celebrate the sustenance of the 4th Republic for almost three decades on this day.

Many governance experts believe that but for the incessant disruptions of the constitutional order, Ghana could have witnessed an accelerated development. For the proponents of this theory, a stable democracy is the bedrock for national development. If we test this theory against the 4th Republic, can we say Ghana has developed? The obvious answer is no. However, it's refreshing to note that we've made enormous progress though there's more room for improvement.

In this vein, I subscribe to the theory that a stable democracy is the bedrock for national development. But, we need to begin to examine, after three decades of constitutional practice, what factors led to the disruptions in our journey to development. Are those factors present today? Have we consolidated our democracy hermetically to prevent another disruption? These questions are critical especially when West Africa is seeing a surge in military strongmen who are vacating the constitutions of their respective country.

In most, if not all, military juntas, the leaders ride on the collective outrage of citizens to overthrow the constitution. A reading of our own history will support this point. When there's a state of despondency and frustrations in a country, perceived or real, military strongmen latch onto that to carry out their agenda, mostly to the admiration of civilians. Indeed, it should not be lost on us, flipping through our history pages, that, misgovernance and misrule, in summary, have been the reasons adduced by coup leaders in Ghana to justify their actions.

A case in point which buttresses the point supra, is the 1979 coup led by the late Jerry John Rawlings. To date, some people think the circumstances of that coup is justified. This goes to underscore the possibility of coup leaders to galvanise the support of the ordinary citizens to sustain their agenda. I daresay, without the support of citizens, the barrel of the gun can't succeed at overthrowing the constitution. A recent example is what happened in Turkey when the people poured on the streets to foil a coup attempt by the military.

My reflections on our journey as a people so far and looking at scenarios in other jurisdictions, point to an irresistible conclusion that, to sustain our 4th republican democracy, we need the unflinching support of the ordinary citizens of our country. We can attain this by serving the people in truth. The needs of the people including employment, access to healthcare, education, etc should be addressed. All attempts must be made to secure the trust of the people in the political class. This can be achieved through bridging the gap between the political class and the ordinary people.

Interestingly, military juntas, in my view, have mostly failed to deliver any good to the people. Military juntas largely come with extra judicial killings, looting of state resources, oppression of the people, and disregard for the rule of law. And that's why it's important to preserve our democracy through citizens' involvement in the governance process in order to kill any possibility of a coup d'etat. On this day, let everyone reflect on our journey thus far, and identify what more we can do to improve our lots.

A happy constitutional day.

God bless our homeland Ghana!

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Military juntas have failed to deliver any good to the people of Ghana - Addai-Nimoh - GhanaWeb