Ghana is worldly acclaimed as a beckon of democracy and the rule of law in sub-Saharan Africa. It is for this international recognition that such a country which guarantees its citizenries certain right allowed them to fulfill those rights without any fear of intimidation, whatsoever,from any authority. Under our laws, every individual citizen or group of citizens have the right to demonstrate to register their pent-up grievance or dissatisfaction on any happenings or events in the country which affect their quest in fulfilling certain rights of theirs. Moreover, the laws of our land also give workers the right to use industrial actions as a way of making certain demands about their condition of service. As it is with any good law, every right comes with a baggage of duty or responsibility. The exercise of non of these rights so stated above, should not in any way interfere with the peace we are enjoying as a nation on which the realization and fulfillment of our dreams and aspirations as a people is contingent.
We are going through challenging moments as a country. Arguably, the most challenging moment in the history of our fourth republic as far as the economy is concerned. Apparently, the series of demonstrations and industrial actions which have become a good morning greetings every blessed day is so telling. This in my estimation is unprecedented in the fourth republic. The government is under immense pressure from organized labour, students unions and, in fact, political parties etc. to fix the ailing economy, which has dried their pockets and sent them sleepless and restless in the very bed they borrowed no money to afford. The economy of Ghana is under siege by the falling value of the cedi against other international currencies, growing import dependency, ballooning public debt and expenditure , fall in the prices of our major export earners, increases in utility tariffs and taxes, increase in the prices of goods and services with salaries remaining stagnant. The aforementioned challenges would necessarily trigger the kind of industrial actions and demonstrations we are experiencing across the length and breath of the country, but is that the only way forward? and have we contemplated their counter productiveness? In the simplest of explanations, excessive strike actions and demonstrations will slow down business activities, reduce productivity and eventually kill investor confidence, thereby worsening the plight of the very economy we are trying to fix.
As the steam of demonstrations and industrial actions keep gathering day in and out, fake revolution crusaders and prophets of doom will have a job for their evil motives. Praying and predicting a military coup and revolution? Yes! That's exactly their evil expectations. Have we as a nation lost our conscience or lost touch with the dark days of our history, and the ashes we have come from, through these revolutions and coups? Which revolution or coup has served the interest of our motherland? Is it the 1966 military coup( the most unfortunate),1972,1979 or 1981? Tell me, which of these fulfilled our dreams and aspirations as Ghanians? Perhaps, you shall pick non!
My motive for chronicling these historical dark days is partly to give us an insight that Ghana has really witnessed no "revolutions" than military coups. But for those who are praying for Ghana's version of the Arab spring, clearly, they are ignorant of what the Arab spring actually was and its rout causes.The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across the Middle East in early 2011. The Arab spring was widely believed to have been instigated by dissatisfaction with the rule of local governments, though some have speculated that wide gaps in income levels may have had a hand as well.Numerous factors have led to the protests, including issues such as dictatorship or absolute monarchy, human rights violations, political corruption (demonstrated by Wikileaks diplomatic cables), economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, and a number of demographic structural factors, such as a large percentage of educated dissatisfied youth within the population.But the purpose of the Arab spring , relative success and outcome remain hotly disputed in Arab countries, among foreign observers, and between world powers looking to cash in on the changing map of the Middle East.
For one to understand the current happenings in the Middle East, you need to study their political and economic history to appreciate how that society has metamorphosed over time, and decide for yourself if the snail can still go for the shells of the tortoise without feeling it is carrying the entire forest.Ghana can't identify its history with that of the Middle East. We can't replicate unfortunate happenings in the Middle East in Ghana.THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THING WE SHOULD NOT LOSE SIGHT OF, IS THE FACT THAT WE LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE THE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT IS STRONGLY UPHELD AND DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES AND THE RULE OF LAW IS IN FULL GEAR WITHOUT ANY DELIBERATE ATTEMPT OF SUPPRESSION, and this is the bedrock or hallmark of any nation which could stand challenges and still come out strong, which was lacking in these arab countries that were swept by the so called "Arab spring".
Amidst our current challenges, what is the objective of these labour unrests and demonstrations. Is it to get the challenges surmounted or allow militants and hooligans to infiltrate and usher our dear nation into a new era of lawlessness and military rule. This shouldn't be the interest of any true Ghanian who appreciates the significance of peace in addressing our challenges. It is worth noting that both big and small economies had their share deal of economic crisis, but how it was approached or handled resulted in the outcomes they had. The current economic challenges is not peculiar to Ghana, so we have to make a strong case for Ghana once more just as we did in our independent struggle. WE MUST MAKE USE OF OUR GOD GIVEN CONSCIENCE TO SPARK AN INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTION, BUT NOT THE REVOLUTION OF ARMS AND VIOLENCE. It is not how resentful we are as a people in the midst of our current challenges, but how we unite, find solutions through intellectual pragmatic dialogue that defines how great a nation we are. GHANA SHALL WORK AGAIN and restore the confidence and pride of our nation. TOGETHER WE SHALL OVERCOME!
Alhassan Tairou Manaf
Email: professormaita@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0549687509