Any form of dictatorship or a remote idea of coups d’état cannot be the surest vector for shaping the future of communities, and our beloved country as a whole.
Let me tell you, my story. My family was harassed, intimidated, and finally arrested by ex-President Rawlings’ vicious military rule. This led to my father being exiled to Togo with his brothers in the early and mid-80s when Ex-President Rawlings took over.
This was very traumatizing to the family. One would have thought it would end thereafter the country seemed to be ushered into a democratic dispensation in 1992.
Oh boy, it didn’t. The harassment continued unabated. My father had to endure all kinds of humiliating arrests under President Rawlings’ rule and, as early as 1996, our house was constantly raided and searched under the guise of national security interests.
Ironically, none of these led to a single charge. It was just the display of military rule and power. I grew up seeing military men (soldiers) around my house all the time. You can imagine the emotional and psychological trauma a kid like myself had to endure.
These stressful events shattered my sense of security, making me feel helpless and anxious in a perilous world. Coup(s) can never be the solution.
Contrary to popular views of coups as remedies against seeming repressive governments, in the end, it tends to make matters worse for the citizenry. I don’t wish on my worst enemy what my family endured. It’s against this backdrop that I call on all well-meaning Ghanaians to do their bit to help us deepen our democracy, and the democratic institutions we have to sustain our current environment - - where we are all equal and where transparency, good governance and credibility stand tall.
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