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24.02.2019 Press Statement

CPP Statement On The 53rd Commemoration Of The Dark Days In Ghana - February 24, 1966.

CPP Statement On The 53rd Commemoration Of The Dark Days In Ghana - February 24, 1966.
24.02.2019 LISTEN

Some 53 years ago today (Sunday, February 24, 2019), Ghana witnessed the first setback to the path of self-determination and reliance, social justice and the dream of spearheading a continental government. The forces of darkness and calumny with their collaborators internally and externally struck at a time we least expected. They overthrew the first Constitution of the Republic, closed Parliament, replaced the constitutionally elected Executive with a police/military junta and usurped the sovereign will of the people to choose how to be governed.

Draw back

That day marked the beginning of the drawback to all the giant steps Ghana had taken as the first nation to emerge from the domination of an outside force through the means of Law and due process. The era of war and conquest having been put behind humanity. The evil that men do, prophetically captured in Julius Caesar, lived after the architects and beneficiaries of that act of treachery and disloyalty only 2 years and 4 months in office. On January 13, 1972, the Progress Party that hailed the 1966 coup was toppled by another band of treacherous and disloyal men in uniform. Thus, we entered another phase of the drawback.

Political hooliganism

Today, we are worried about the threat posed by indiscipline and political hooliganism explained away with the euphemistic tag of vigilantism. It must be underscored that the basic assumption for the emergence of vigilantism, properly organized, is the failure or breakdown of the State security architecture. That calls for an interrogation of our security system and those who have been responsible for its creation.

We cannot ever under estimate the impact of the first dastardly act of a coup d' etat on Ghana. For, it was followed by other acts of treachery and disloyalty. Deaths, loss of property, change and manipulation of direction have all been recorded.

Seeds of mistrust, needless/baseless suspicion and bitterness in the competitive political sphere have dominated our discourse emanating from that dark day.

Lessons to be learnt

Many lessons are there to be learnt from the dark experience of February 24, 1966. Most prominent among these is the audacious NEVER AGAIN. Never again must we allow our sovereign will, to self-determine, be taken away from us. Never again must we fall for the bait of some adventurism as a consolation to our defeat at electio ns. After all, time has proven that no matter how long it takes, we can recover and also win elections. Ghana must learn to say NEVER AGAIN to the endorsementof foul tactics that may benefit us today. For, tomorrow, we may suffer from the very seeds of foul tactics we sowed.

Rise together

We must rise together to build Ghana. Government must stop paying lip service to the One District One Factory idea borrowed from the industrialization efforts of our founding father, Kwame Nkrumah. We can start by resuscitating at least 16 of the many State built industries under a One Region One Factory realism. We want to believe that indeed, the creation of these additional regions is to facilitate development,crea te jobs and make lives better. What more could the people ask for? Let us learn the lessons of February 24 and act NEVER AGAIN.

Prof. Edmund N. Delle Chairman and Leader

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