June 4th Celebration and Civilisation in Ghana

I find it very uncomfortable when I see June 4th been celebrated. The question we must ask ourselves is; what's the relevance of the celebration. Ghana since independence has experienced abuse of power by political leaders. Even after June 4th these abuses were still on going.

What is June 4th celebrated for? Are people trying to justify to young military officers that it is always ideal for them to overthrow a government if there is the perception of wrong doing or abuse of power. In this our modern democratic dispensation it is unfortunate that people believe celebrating a military coup is justified.

If I may ask the pro June 4th Ghanaians a simple question. If there was no June 4th and Gen Acheampong had handed over to a civilian elected government how will Ghana be today? Our collective effort in discouraging military involvement in our politics would have bone Ghana better that the June 4th which has caused a negative stain on Ghana in international business environment risk profiling.

Acheampong and his Generals have a legacy which includes Akuse, Palm Plantation and operation feed your self advocacy. Rawlings and Kufuor too have a legacy. People in Acheampong, Rawlings and Kufuor governments have been found guilty of corruption. So what are we talking about? Major development and expansion in Ghana started in the ninety's. Should we have democracy long before then Ghana would have come out of the stigma attached to the June 4th revolution which alienated Ghana from the world. If the architect of the June 4th have the country at heart they could have handed over to a civilian government and support it to mature and not to return and re-seize power.

We have come very far and needs to advance in our civilisation. An education to encourage voter discipline and support of our institutions would have had greater impart on our young democracy to maturity. My advice to Former President Rawlings is that he is respected as a former President not for his role in June 4th. He should do more to encourage forward movement. He has a talent that could be used in the right direction to assist the country.

Most countries have had revolution one way or the other but it is beneficial to a nation to look forward and not repeat past mistakes. In my opinion we should not mention June 4th as it has scared many potential investors from Ghana and it still does.

Bishop Lee Tsarkle
[Email: [email protected]
Management Consultant, UK