MODERN PERSPECTIVES OF THE JUNE 4TH REVOLUTION.
by Fela O Fela (Hope Kwame-Agbotui) of NDC- NEW YORK
From my own investigation and fact-finding mission regarding the June 4th 1979 Revolution, or Uprising, to be precise, I have talk to different groups of individuals, ranging from soldiers to traders to eyewitnesses, and some victims as well and may I say the story is very much more complex than many people can comprehend/or can appreciate mainly because the popular opinion has become that of the very profiteers of the corrupt and unruly practices that led to the uprising, a class of people who, for the most part, are the self-proclaimed victims.
Accordingly, Ghana was so corrupt back then that the very air that people breathe was highly polluted with kalabule/corruption as we see today with the incumbent NPP government......and most of the beatings from what i understand were even initiated by soldiers who took justice into their hands in order to avert the hoarding and the eventual high pricing of goods that the people were in dire need of. I was but a kid, merely 5 years of age, who used to stand on a chair and hand bread out to hundreds of people. I still remember that! So, yes, the good people of Ghana had to stay in long lines for hours just for one or two loaves of bread per family as we see today in Zimbabwe. But, in the case of Ghana, it is hard to believe if it was of external causes, but rather, precipitations of decades of economic mismanagement and exploitation that ensued after the overthrow of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah on February 24th, 1966: A DAY THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY FOR ALL AFRICA. For it was nothing more than the untimely demise of the phenomenon that rightfully became crowned as “The Greatest African”, but rather, posthumously.
Lest we forget, from 1966, after the ouster of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, there was a coup d'etat or change of government every year or 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?
TO EVERY ACTION, THERE IS A REACTION The extra-judicial excesses of the revolution in many cases were no more than groups of soldiers and influential personalities who took it upon themselves to exercise revenge on their purported enemies or people presumed to be on the opportunistic side of the social divide. It happens anytime there is polarization in society, be it rich vs poor or tribal. There were issues of mistaken identity, whereby the wrong people were reported and apprehended or beaten (rather may I say, “punished”).
It happened to a close family friend of ours, whereby two widows of the same man worked in the same compound. One ran a successful canteen/cafeteria while the other sold provisions and liquor. The latter (who managed the provisions and liquor) was supposedly notorious for hoarding goods and selling at high prices, and when the soldiers came, unfortunately it was the chop bar owner who had to pay for the rival's kululu ways. Around the same time, soldiers were sent to our house, because we were such visible family in Ho, capital of Volta Region, (my grandfather could easily be one of first to build a three story building in the town with different compounds across town) but, luckily, word got to us and it was averted. My beloved grandmother had to go into hiding. So, I hope not to be misconstrued, I was in part a victim or could have been an even greater victim. It is imperative that, sometimes, we put things in perspective. The fact that one's father fell victim to a revolution does not nullify or supercede the fact that he might have been a perpetrator or a profiteer of the social and economic exploitation that ensued.
Fascist propaganda machinery as financed by the elite ruling class has been quite successful at portraying Jerry John Rawlings as the sole aggressor and mastermind of the revolution. And being that Rawlings does not “paranoidically or schizophrenically” cry out loud of the countless attempts on his life and administration, (as well demonstrated by President Kuffour and his baby brother, Dr. Addo Kuffour, who went to the extent to ban the former president from ever stepping his left foot into any army barracks), most people cannot conceive that this much celebrated man and so badly missed populist/nationalist/man-of-the-people was constantly a psychological threat and kakamotobi/nightmarish demon to certain class of individuals who now parade themselves in big shoes and shiny suits and bulletproof Mercedes Benzes and state of the art luxury vehicles were actually out to get Rawlings; they either participated, financially supported, and/or abated any initiative to sabotage the movement that he led and personified; now, what happens to such people?
I won say....these kalabule and kululu profiteers, I have no doubts, rather became the forces of resistance, who posed threat to the eminent change or revolution as sanctioned by the good people of Ghana....Lest we forget, JJR had threats on his life, but just because he did not or does not throw tantrum at every toll of the bell does not mean that he had no enemies.....believe you me, his own people (whatever angle you wanna look at that) were his enemy....but hey, weything no happen before. Even Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, with his PDA- preventative detention act, never killed one single person for the seven attempts on his so dear a life, but at the end, how did he end up? It is not that I support any wrong doing on the part of the successive Rawlings regimes, but I strongly believe that the other part of the story must be told, and not only the conspicuous, convicious, confusive, and diabolic perspectives of these political opportunists who now parade the land, with almost each minister driving in presidential motorcades. Some even go as far to use state aircrafts for their presidential ambitions, just because their uncle or political godfather is the president, “ so what can you do about it”.
I am not in anyway trying to justify any misgivings, be it intensional or not, and my heart once again goes out to all innocent victims in such dark times of our dear nation, (that's shortly before and after Nkrumah's demise, until the reformist JJ Rawlings' reconstruction).....lest we forget, thousands of people are dying in this modern days of ours, in our neighboring countries, in what are supposedly free, fair and democratic, western sanctioned elections.....yet some quickly forget, but make haste of and throw tantrum of lighter incidents (yes, rightfully so, but excuse me to say) that has been exploited for political opportunism....but, it's all goooddd......God dey...
But Rawlings being a man of men, would forever take responsibility for his men's actions, never pushing blame, and I guess that was why when he was condemned to death by the kululu neo-colonialist courts, where he denounced the judges, his comrades, the likes of Boakye Djan, whose life he spared, by his refusal to name names, were out to save his life as well..... and the whole nation was behind him with about 80% still sympathise with him; as for the “lost” 20%, they only confess missing him when, and only when, armed robbers hit close to home, or electricity is out yet again, and the water taps that were in full use in Jerry's days, now ran hamattan dry. Go figure!
NPP: BENEFICIARIES OF THE JUNE 4TH REVOLUTION
The relative tranquility and stability (though, now questionable) and equity that the then opposition NPP has come to enjoy (instead of the good people of Ghana) would not have existed if not for the toils and virtual 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. Looking at all the neighbors of Ghana (Togo, Benin, Cote D'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, even Nigeria) there has been change of governments, but none of these government enjoys the political and economical goodwill of the international community, not to mention the generosity, and political credibility and stability that NPP now boast of to be of its own making. The question still remains, why Ghana? Tell me political stability has nothing 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 of JJ Rawlings and his eminent cohorts?
The early years of the PNDC were rightfully turbulent because not only was the then government faced with the daunting task of a reconstruction and a reformation of a failed state from its kalabule, colonial, and neo-colonial ashes, but added to that were forces of resistance that once benefited greatly from the deterioration of the nation....profiteers of the kalabule and the very social breakdown that the masses cried foul of....who now had to irk a living much like the masses: the honest and fair way, and this, some could not condone nor accept, let alone live with. Those who could fight it, fought it, but, to no avail; and those who couldn't, just fled until the nation was ripe again for chopping. And as the saying goes, when life is good, people forget how bad it used to be.
So when they heard of the success stories and the prevailing democracy that now characterized the land, they whisked their way back into the new Ghana, a nation that some citizens would nostalgically proclaimed to be potentially better than America (in parts); A new Ghana that won world acclamation and quickly became the “exception” and “model state” in all of sub-Saharan Africa. Although the streets of this new Ghana were not laced with gold nor any promise thereof, it was still a place that even the average persons found comfortable and certainly peaceful to reside. I mean, everyone, old and young, were out and about in pursuit of something, and the catch phrase then was “capital”. The young bloods would appeal for funds/capital to start something, for they proclaimed “Ghana was good, all you need is some small capital, Inshah Allah, you too, you'll make it”. Did I mention how citizens used their cellphones freely and slept with their doors wide open to let in the nightly cool breeze while some even slept with the entire family on their veranders under those beautiful african, moon-and-stars decorated sky, and in those cool breeze nights. Well, that was some seven hipc years ago. How time flies. They themselves agreed that Ghana was good, that Jerry did well.....but, but, but....”eb3y3s3, the human rights violation-nu”, we are far behind the Malaysias and Koreas (not North Korea o), Singapore, South East Asia, at the time of independence-nu, ebeyese, Ghana had the same, if not better, GDP, GFP, let alone income per capita as these nations, but now look at them now?, “inflation this, interest rates that”......”that Ghanaians don't have four square meals a day, yet the then evil first lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings had the audacity to furnish her house with a jaccuzzi for some kind of therapy” (without telling Ghanaians, the price was $2000 or less, nor the ubiquity of it as it could be found in any hardware store in America, no big deal). So they went on and on, and exploited their freedom of press to fill the airwaves and newspaper stands with their fascist garbage...but it sold for their tactics was just brilliant and met no resistance, for they were not taken seriously at the time, and then they won that peaceful election that africa has ever witness, even at the second rounds. Welcome to the new golden era under kukrudu know-it-all politricians where sweet lies and tribalism became the order of the day. We all know the royal horror that we live in today; in order not to digress, I would sway from the iniquities of the NPP and rather focus on more pertinent issues: Re-framing the June 4th ,1979 Uprising and the December 31st 1981 Revolution.
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 these corruption profiteers and their neo-colonialist brethren in order to facilitate the reconstruction of a new Ghana to commence. 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. A nation of great potential, ankasa, that selfless nationalists and social democrats (NDC) and pervasive pseudo-capitalists (NPP) alike want to take control of, and rightfully so. One ghanaweb.com contributor, (OP) once wrote to me, "it seemed very atrocious (seizing people's properties, killing people by firing squad, curfews and just a mere state of insecurity and fear in Ghana)" If yours truly can time-travel small, take a trip down memory lane, there is no doubt that Ghana was a lawless nation at the time....people lived in absolute fear....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!
(once again, my apologies and sympathy goes out to all innocent victims of the revolution) I was just talking to a very learned guy from Liberia,....who told me how in the first war, in Liberia, 1990?, few or very little people/civilians fell victim; but however, in the 2003, because of the vast social divide that Charles Taylor instituted, whereby only his family, friends and cronies were the beneficiaries, we saw the aftermath, right? Human life came to mean nothing. And ironically, it was Ghana that hundreds of thousands of Liberians found refuge, only to be kicked out by President Kuffour without remorse.
About the seizing of properties, my question to readers is, what could be done to the likes of Isaac Edumadze who only had a beat up toyota pick truck in 2000, but has a liquid cash of well over one million dollars in different bank accounts.....some in dollars, euro, cedis, kuffour dollars, you name it....What about Kuffour, himself, and his family who now own some of the priciest prime real estates that Ghana has ever seen? From five star hotels to million dollar shopping malls, to majority stakes in airline company, and while some in the family enjoy tax-free importation of rice and other grains. What do you do to the like of such people with all the evidence that points to their corruption and state theft? What of the pervasive drug-trafficking pandemic that the government has been complacent to.
Remembering NPP's national reconciliation commission, there was a man who served in Liman's govt for two years, but managed to have owned about five houses with five cars,...and now that the properties were seize from him,he actually had the twisted nerves/audacity to demand these properties back.
Even Kuffour's camp in the NPP accused Francis Poku of owning 10 to 20 houses in Trassaco Valley alone. The cheapest house in Trassacco is no less than $300k that was in 2004 when Fela went to visit.....now home prices have increased from half a million to a million, and this environs and its vicinity have now become the heaven-on-earth for all the key players of the incumbent government and their underground/underworld associates. Go figure!
About the killing of the army generals and judges in the firing squad, not that I sanction it in this modern day Ghana (what the heck), would you believe that one of the Danquah-Busia military leader, maybe Afrifa or Akuffo actually went to one of the other leaders home and killed him and his family at point blank, all of them, and so he too was killed the same way. Sadly enough NPP would only want to propagate side of the story that benefits them.....TO EVERY ACTION, THERE IS A REACTION.! In hindsight, I don't think the people chanted “let the blood flow, let the blood flow” without any remorse, if that was not their conviction. Just a little glimpse into what was the earlier days of the revolution.
The list goes on and on....
JJ might not be perfect, but the man, as according to many that know him best, has a clean heart and loved his nation and his people beyond anything imaginable.
To conclude, anytime there is social divide and class, there always comes a revolution that squashes all of that....and the powers that be would always cry their crocodile tears.....the tales of the hunt only benefits the hunter....never the prey. Who cries for the preys of the state sponsored corruption and degradation of society, the defenseless poor, that is.
The Jerry-fellowship (for the lack of a better word) must defend its cause/course!!!!!...and render regrets and apologies where appropriate. This is why I support the NDC, and this is why I am confident that the good people of Ghana shall vote NDC back now and forevermore. I hereby entreat all to support this incredible movement to save our dear motherland, and believe you me, this time around, we shall take care of our own. No more John Agyekum Kuffours becoming our Secretary of Local Government, no more would the like of Aliu Mahama enjoying SCC contracts in the north, no more would the likes of Asafo Marfo preside over Bank of Housing and Construction, and Dr. Addo Kuffour reign in 37 Military Hospital and later render JJ Rawlings “senseless.” This time around, we too we go play politics small....habaaa!!
EYE ZUUUU O EYE ZAAAAAAAAAA ONE LOVE ONE PEOPLE ONE GHANA
(This is for the text books, the Revolution 101, to be televised and professized and virtualized)) of NDC- NEW YORK
Email: felaofela@gmail.com