Letters
NUGS' call for elective rule
The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) was reported by the Talking Drums of May 20, 1985 as calling on the PNDC regime to take necessary steps to return the country to constitutional ruleThe students' call has come at a time when the people of Ghana have lost hope in the Rawlings' regime. NUGS is one of the major pressure groups which identified itself publicly with Rawlings on June 4, 1979.
When Rawlings came to power in June 1979 he was ably supported by the NUGS. The students made Rawlings so popular and could not even see anything wrong with his murderous acts.
When on December 31, 1981 Rawlings staged his coup, the NUGS was again the major pressure group to declare its support for Rawlings' regime.
And now the students have come to realize that Rawlings cannot rule the country as the masses expect so he should hand over to competent people elected through the ballot box.
Students cannot be in a society where education is no more a right because most of them come from poor homes.
It is now apparent that the students have regretted the precious time they wasted in supporting the unsupportable PNDC regime and defending the indefensible policies of a regime that cannot boast of a single achievement in its three years.
K.S. Owusu-Appiah, Raubach, W. Germany
Point of order
Thank you for your balanced treatment of "Power to the People" in your review in Talking Drums 20th May 1985. However, there was a misplacement of quotation marks which led to a statement being wrongly attributed to me.I accused Gen. Kotoka and Afrifa of introducing coups to peaceful Ghana but I did NOT hold them responsible for ALL our woes.
Kodjo, Crobsen, Accra
An unfair editorial comment
"Ghanaians would be the first to sympathise with such position as many of them are convinced that if their own Kwame Nkrumah had paid more attention to his own countrymen and been less preoccupied with the rest of Africa, Ghana would have been a more tolerable place under him and he unfair and himself would have lasted longer".Having made an somewhat foolish assertion, you tried to distinguish it with this point: "Again on this point, Ghanaians are eminently qualified to testify and advise General Buhari. Some fifteen years after the Aliens Compliance Order of Premier Kofi Busia, Ghana is still suffering from the effects both in terms of image and economy," your editorial comment captioned - "The Exodus From Lagos" (Talking Drums, 20/5/85).
To Nigerians and Ghanaians alike, "Nigerians are dishing to us our own medicine".
Historically and traditionally, Ghana's geographical, economic and political position has made it a target of mass influx of West African nationals. Her rich endowment in mineral, material and human resources have for years, made the tiny country highly attractive to people of West African stock.
The fact is, long before Dr Nkrumah's entry into politics, Ghana, the then Gold Coast, had been a sanctuary and permanent domicile for considerable numbers of Hausas, Ibos, Yorubas, Warris of Nigeria; the Mossis, Zambrambas, Anlogas, Atakpames, Bauoles, Krus etc of Burkina-Faso, Togo, Ivory Coast, Liberia, etc. Each group engaged in a field of economic activity, eg Yorubas as accomplished petty-traders, in Ghana. The Fulanis were the seasonal migrants of Ghana during the harmattan season.
Was it not the long association of Hausas with Ghana that their language became one of Ghana's six main languages used on our radio/television? How many Ghanaians presently know that the Hausas in Ghana are not Ghanaians?
To every objective person, what precipitated the tragic mass expulsion and counter expulsion of nationals of West Africa origin as currently witnessed throughout the sub-region, was clearly Ghana's Aliens Compliance Order.
One would doubt whether Nigeria's two expulsions of immigrants would have been effected had Ghana, which had a longer and better record of accommodating West African nationals, not uprooted over three generations of Nigerians, most of whom NEVER knew where Nigeria was but by name? Thus, to blame the sad expulsions of Ghanaians wherever they go in the sub-region on Dr Nkrumah, is very unfortunate.
Did Miss Ohene expect Dr Nkrumah to turn Ghana into an Albania as your columnist, Ben Mensah draws readers attention to, vis-a-vis General Buhari and Nigeria? Does our much respected editor see no little good in Dr Nkrumah caring about the African continent and peoples?
We live in a world of inter-dependence and no matter how much we focus our attention on our peoples only, our membership of international organizations compels us to be a little accommodating and tolerant with nationals of other countries.
Ko' Oppong, London
Who are getting the contracts?
Corruption is the excuse most often cited for the military take-over of constitutionally elected governments in Africa and the western countries especially seem to think that military rule eliminates corruption.When civilians are in power in Africa, western journalists on assignment in African countries go to find horror stories of corruption in government, but I think when they visit countries like Ghana under Rawlings and Nigeria under Buhari, they see no evil because they don't think any evil.
If indeed the so-called 'cleaning-up' regimes like those of Rawlings and Buhari are half as clean as they will want people to believe, then they should publish in the papers a list of all the contracts issued by them since they seized power. Not only the contracts issued in Lagos and Accra but in the regions and districts; every contract worth more than £1,000,000.
I am sure such a list will make very interesting reading and it will prove the current rumours that fantastic deals are being made by men in uniform and friends and relations of men in uniform.
I wonder if there can be any reasons why such a list should not be published. Clean men should not be afraid to make public who the recipients of their contracts are. As one politician in Ghana used to campaign. My hands are clean"
If the hands of Rawlings and Buhari are clean, they should show them to us and not hide them in their pockets.
S.K. Name, London
