Remembering June 4

For the greater part of three decades, the 4^th of June has become a regular feature of the Ghanaian calendar year. Older Ghanaians will remember the day as one of the bloodiest in the history of Ghana.

It was also a watershed in the nation’s history, in the sense that, it was the last occasion where ordinary Ghanaians were involved in a revolution, openly clamouring for “blood to flow.”

And even though the chief beneficiary, Mr. Jerry John Rawlings, returned in December 1981 for a second coup, June 4 has remained a symbolic day in Ghanaian history. It wasset aside as a national holiday until ex-President John Kufuor, scrapped it on assuming the reins of power in 2001.

In spite of that, Mr. Rawlings and his friends continue to celebrate the day, believing that the objectives for the uprising make its commemoration relevant and justifiable.

Yesterday was 36 years since the uprising occurred; but sometimes it feels as though the event took place several centuries ago. This is because as humans, we tend to forget things with the passage of time. Alas! That black spot in our history occurred only yesterday.

At this point, it must be clarified that , in principle, does not support and would not justify a coup, irrespective of the underlying factors. But we owe ourselves a duty to learn lessons from our experiences.

Yet, we seem, as a country, to have forgotten about the push factors for the June 4 uprising. The protagonists have consistently said the Ghanaian society was too corrupt – and the corruption had taken over the fabric of the society. Even the ordinary people took pride in cheating and engaging in profiteering and racketeering.

Does it sound like we are talking about today? Definitely! We read of business executives and owners, fleecing their companies and the state; home owners charging cutthroat prices for rent and lease; politicians buying votes; and importers evading taxes.

As a nation, we have taken a number of good steps, including enacting anti-money laundering legislation and a petroleum revenue management law. These are meant to check corrupt resource management.

However, we are yet to achieve ideal results.

This is what fuels Mr. Rawlings and his friends to annually launch attacks on persons who have secured the people’s mandate to correct these ills but failed to do so. In as much as they also are not saints, they are also not charlatans. As citizens of Ghana, they have a constitutional duty to safeguard the nation’s interest.

Therefore, we dare say that the time has come for introspection.

I will not call for an uprising but there is evidence across Africa and the West African sub-region that no person can stop a group of angry citizens.

We owe posterity a responsibility to correct the misdeeds and rally everyone for our nation building agenda.

In this regard, we need our leadership to be assertive; cracking the whip where necessary, without minding whose ox is gored. This is because prevention, as it is said, is better than cure.