No Ordinary Sunday

Sundays have a way of being serene and reflective. As I visited a number of polling stations in Accra on Sunday, December 7th, 2008 the most obvious sentiments among the electorate were elation, patience, determination and trust. In this our 5th consecutive election in the 4th Republic, young and old, rich and poor arose early to make their votes count. The whole process seemed to be on auto pilot in the way an attendee at a Catholic Mass believes purely by faith that their requests will be heeded.

My thoughts went back to one equally serene Sunday during the Michaelmas term at the University of Ghana in 1973. Not much was happening until at about 2:30pm a loud voice urgently calling one and all in Legon Hall to an emergency meeting cut through the sleepy afternoon like a hot knife through butter. We scampered off from Annex I “Golan Heights” and Annex II “Jatokrom” into the main hall. On our way to the Junior Common Room, word filtered through that a gentleman of the hall; one Mr. Doe had been severely beaten by soldiers at a lorry park in Ho as he interceded on behalf of a fellow citizen who was being manhandled by soldiers. Mr. Doe was a mature student. He had been a teacher in some rural outpost for some years before seeking the proverbial Golden Fleece at Legon. He was the kind of guy we respected but greeted with taunts of “Paapa -o – dendee” because of his age. He bared his back and we saw his wounds. We were going to respond but how was this going to happen?

We decided that Legon Hall could not respond on its own. We adjourned our meeting and moved it in toto, to Commonwealth Hall to inform our neighbours of the situation. The joint meeting with the Vandals then moved to Sarbah Hall, growing larger and feistier, it drew in Akuafo Hall and finally we sought the support of the women of Volta Hall who fiercely supported a national demonstration. Emissaries were sent to KNUST and UCC overnight and by dawn all 3 universities began simultaneous demonstrations against the Military government of General Kutu Acheampong. The government was completely disoriented by this national co-ordinated national action.

In Accra, we were halted by soldiers and tanks at the Ghana Standards Board office near Tetteh Quarshie Circle and while the stalemate continued, all 3 universities were closed as we heard on the 1 o' clock news. We were armed only with our faith that our country could do better and we fled our campuses for fear of our lives. This is how the resistance to military rule was born. This is where the slow return to the democracy we enjoy today took its first breath. Our courage led to a larger coalition between NUGS, the workers and professional bodies which led the fight to the restoration of civilian rule in the 3rd Republic. Many of us were hounded, beaten and some of us were bribed or otherwise coerced. Many of the foot soldiers of this movement are now participants in the current process on different sides of the political spectrum and so it should be, for that is what democracy is about.

So as I reflected on the two Sundays, I felt that the recklessness of our youth had been completely worth it. We were only for the ideal of freedom and nothing more. The people have spoken loudly and with clarity. The incumbent government has a lot to prove. This election was about the graft and corruption. It was and is about a government which started out very well but had now become inaccessible to the people. A sickening elitism had taken hold. For all it's great achievements in the last 8 years, the NPP failed to place the rule of law above all else and allowed its officials to skim off the top off contracts and the like, with frightening efficiency. Every minor functionary has a motorcade and citizens going about their business are routinely run off the road. So the people have had their say. The house has been given to the NDC with the hope that in their years in the political wilderness, they have reflected on their own mistakes from the past. They were not free from accusations of large scale corruption during their stewardship. The human rights gains in the last 8 years have created a climate which has attracted so much more in investment dollars that it would be a great mistake for the NDC to return to the politics of intimidation which had characterized their history and undermined investment. It would be beneficial for them to come clean on this issue because ex- President Rawlings continues to rant in a manner which may have cost the NDC the presidency, necessitating the run-off. No one is interested in a puppet president in the form of Prof. Atta-Mills. If he wins the run –off, it will be because the people have decided they can trust him to be truly independent of his old boss. This is the NDC's greatest obstacle to victory.

The NPP's candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo is viewed as his own man and this may give him the path to the presidency. Ghanaians expect real action on corruption, not slogans. They expect Nana to deliver and also expect him to apply the laws of the land fearlessly and fairly. This is a mature electorate seeking full transparency with checks and balances leading the way to a more prosperous future for all. Nana will lead a minority government if he wins and this balanced approach is what the electorate may be after.

The CPP has been resurrected as a national party but still has a very long way to go. Dr. Nduom's statements after the results point the way to the high road of the future. The CPP has the most difficult decision with its critical 1.34 % of the vote. Dr. Nduom can take a non-aligned stance or he can make a notable difference by supporting one side or the other. The future still belongs to his CPP because only Nduom is speaking the language of accountability and measurable results. He is ahead of the electorate. The sooner the party unites for the future the better. The PNC, CPP and the independents with 7 seats will have a crucial role in shaping the legislative future of the nation.

The electorate's particular concerns have to do with our processes, institutions, efficiency in governance and service delivery to the population. Our education system is turning out graduates who are barely literate at the dawn of the arrival of a new oil industry. If we do not wake up to equipping the youth with skill sets to succeed in the highly technological future it will not matter who is in the executive branch or which party has the majority in parliament. We have little time and the issues raised during the campaign to the runoff will determine what the people will prescribe for the future. This is about doing the people's business not about being in business on the people's time with the people's resources.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei (For the Latin –challenged: The voice of the people is the voice of God)

Prof. Thaddeus P.Manus Ulzen
[email protected]
December 12, 2008