Anyidoho Calls For Military Audit
A RETIRED senior military officer, Major-General Henry Kwami Anyidoho, has bemoaned the falling standards in the military and called for a 'forensic audit' of the performance of the various military training institutions, particularly, the Ghana Military Academy (GMA).
“The military in the past exhibited high standards; but where has the standards gone today?” he queried.
Maj. Gen. Anyidoho was delivering the 50th Golden Jubilee Anniversary Lecture of the GMA, under the theme, 'Ghana Military Academy- Past Present and Future'.
The well attended lecture was the third in a series of lectures lined up by the GMA to mark the golden jubilee celebration.
Maj. Gen. Anyidoho said “in the past, the military had no room for tribalism and discrimination, but today, we are witnessing numerous problems which have the potential to derail the gains made so far.”
He said, “Whilst on a United Nations assignment in Sudan, I met a lot of Ghanaian officers who have retired prematurely, and when I enquired from them they told me the military is no longer what it used to be.”
“Some felt discriminated against while others said they had no god-fathers. If the situation is true, then the trend must be reversed without any delay,” the Major-General stated.
He advised the military authorities not to initiate any programme that could sow seeds of discord among the rank and file of the military, saying “we should not sow seeds of ethnicity.
We either stand together or go down.”
He said the officer corps seems to be losing its image before the public, despite increased intake into the training institutions, adding “we should give fresh voice to ancient values.”
He said the military should not undermine moral considerations when it comes to recruitment, saying, “We should go back to enforce ethical values to make the military a reputable institution.”
“In the midst of this corruptive environment, we should be able to hold our own so that our core values are not eroded. Let us return to base and rethink officer training,” he advised.
He said officer cadets should be trained to be professionals in order to uphold high standards, adding “you cannot be a good officer in the unit and be a different officer outside.”
Maj. Gen Anyidoho said the military should be able to correct the erroneous impression that soldiers do not have anything to do with the civilian community.
He said the military should not allow politicians to divide them.
“Should we sit down for politicians to make us see each other and turn away?” he asked.
He said the time has come for the GMA to be given the needed resources and infrastructure to be able to train more officers to serve the nation better.
The retired senior military officer said the military has a duty to support the growth of the current democratic dispensation, saying “I pray and hope that our country will continue to uphold good governance. The more we work towards it, the better for the development of the country.”
He said, “We want to see our nation develop so that the citizens can boldly speak their minds and we should not do anything to undermine this effort.”
Brigadier General Francis Asiedu Agyemfrah (Rtd) of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) who chaired the lecture, said, “There is a problem at hand and we should all work together to find solutions to the problems.”
By William Yaw Owusu