The Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, President Akufo-Addo, the man elected by majority of his compatriots to rule this country on their behalf, is a man some restless spirits would have rather is toppled.
In every human setting, there are killjoys and mischief-makers whose enterprise does not inure to prosperity. The record of their paymasters when they were at the helm, is verifiable, a pitiable performance. It was a record which accounted for the country’s worst economic performance at a time when there was no COVID-19 and the country drawing unparalleled foreign financial inflow.
The President’s reference to this gang of Ghanaians, some of them flaunting academic qualifications of the highest order, is his first acknowledgment of their coup wishes and it stuck dealing it a bull’s eye effect.
The remarks were so poignant that highlighting them in such a commentary would be an appropriate contextualisation.
“There are some restless spirits amongst us who, seeking to exploit the current difficulties confronting the nation, claim to have lost confidence in our democratic system to effect a peaceful, constitutional change in the governance of our state. Either the absence of faith in the prospects of a democratic alternative to the current government, or their impatience to wield executive authority, are the factors driving their appetite for the shortcut of military intervention.”
For such restless spirits, the global factors such as post COVID-19 realities and the attendant economic downturn, a situation exacerbated by the Ukrainian war, do not exist.
The foregone factors are realities which have come in handy for their partisan mischief. We are constrained to describe their enterprise as not only unbecoming but shameful especially, coming from persons who in their heart of hearts, comprehend the ailment in which the world is deeply embroiled.
We have all agreed as a people bound by a common destiny and cause, to be guided by a magna carta, the Constitution, which we hold in high esteem. Indeed, any attempt at throwing away this document as the killjoys are hoping, is considered treasonable and the people of this country will resist with all their might.
Unfortunately, however, we have determined in the rhetoric of the restless spirits a concentrated dose of pessimism. We wish they could share with the nation why the ballot box, the constitutionally allowed means of changing governments, is no longer appealing to them.
The shortcut of military intervention is a thing of the past in modern settings. If some countries still learning the ropes of democratic governance have had their ragtag militaries steal power, ours is not. Our soldiers have learnt what such trends have visited on their country in the past and would not be encouraged by the inciting words of disgruntled politicians/academics.