Subjugated people cannot evolve a constitution (2)
Mrs J. Maud Kordylas
"A constitution is not created, it is evolved, and people subjugated cannot evolve a constitution," Mrs J. Maud Kordylas of Arkloyd's Food Laboratory, Douala, Cameroon, continues her analysis and solution of Ghana's socio-economic problems in this two-part article.After the fall of the Acheampong regime, subsequent governments which followed were overwhelmed by the uncontrollable tides of the economic chaos created and were swept by them. The present military government, angered by the state of affairs and armed with guns and a conviction of righteous indignation, took over the country. They gave themselves a mandate of a holy mission from God to wage a holy war against the overwhelming economic chaos..
An economic chaos which had been created for the people by such well- meaning leaders in the past, who also had God given missions just like theirs. So once again the country is being shoved into another dream nation, without the necessary realisation that a nation cannot be created by any one, nor for that matter, by a group of self-appointed holy leaders. A nation has to be evolved and its evolution comes about through its people.
Such modern bubble worlds exist in all under-developed countries because their very existence is maintained and sup- ported by the industrialized countries through aids, loans, World Bank assistance and through the IMF and other international institutions which also help to subjugate their people.
Existence of such modern bubbles is in the interest of the industralized countries because it is through them that markets are provided for the industrialized world's machinery, equipment, manufactured goods, etc. They also act as venues through which raw materials and minerals are syphoned out of the under-developed countries. Existence of such modern bubbles is therefore encouraged by the industrialized countries since such modern creations provide them with lifestyle facilities for tourism and westernized educated nationals with whom to communicate their ideas and ideals.
Living alongside the 'modern bubble world' is the rural majority who have no life-style linkages with the people of the 'modern bubble'. They live in a self-sustaining economy with very low levels of capital investment. Their production is based on local crops and available local materials. They use traditional implements and methods to provide their basic needs. Unknowingly to them, they are in a position to get along better without the floating parasitic affluent 'modern bubble'.
Constitution
The groups of people who live in the 'modern bubble' comprise: the ruling group or government; the educated elite; private business sector; workers and the city unemployed. The rural sector is made up of peasant farmers, self-employed traditional small-scale business people; under-employed and unemployed members of the extended families. Hovering between the two separate worlds are the traditional rulers who look after the people in the world below.Power is concentrated so much in the hands of any ruling group or government, that the government can make you or break you. The ruling group acts as a liaison between the people and the outside world from where the people are sub- jugated. Any ruling group generally equates itself to the State and equates the State to itself, so that anything that belongs to the state becomes the property of the ruling group and it can, therefore, dispense of it as it pleases without accountability to any one.
Anyone put into a position of power or of responsibility also acquires such powers. With powers acquired they dish out favours as they please. Things are given to people or services are rendered to people, not as of right due them as citizens of the state, but as favours given to them by individuals in power.
The ruling group has powers to nominate whom it pleases into any posi- tion of power, and also has the power to remove anyone from any position of power. Anyone put into a position of power or of responsibility also acquires such powers. With the powers acquired they dish out favours as they please. Things are given to people or services are rendered to people, not as of right due them as citizens of the state, but favours given to them by individuals in power.
Through such a favour giving system the people are constantly subjugated. The whole population adjusts itself to the state of receiving and giving favours and everyone responds accordingly. Such absolute display of power creates a state where corruption becomes rampant; people in power easily amass wealth, and humble people who have come into wealth begin to display extravagant lifestyles.
Such a group of power wielders, with no accountability to anyone, without discipline and without control and whose survival depends on exploitation, cannot be in a position to evolve any meaningful constitution.
The Educated Elite
Most of our educated elite hold positions in the civil service, the public service, public institutions: the education service, the universities, research institutions, banks, courts, hospitals, etc. More often than not those who reach the top rise through the mill to get there. They are ruled by conditions of service drawn up by their governing bodies and approved by government. Through their conditions of service they are given certain privileges and advantages which enable them to have a moderately exaggerated, affluent lifestyle which they could not otherwise afford.They are housed; given official transport; duty allowance; loans to purchase means transport; car maintenance allowance; loans for insurance, car surance; for school fees and for vacation. Their standard of living and life-style depend strictly upon their being employed within this paternalistic system, which eventually enslaves and ties them up in debts. They become subjugated to the system and tend to forfeit their freedom and independence with.
Under stressful situations when the ruling group applies pressure, for fear of losing their jobs, they become prone to silence, compromise their principles; compromise their values and dampen their conscience. Such a group, which has been so subjugated within such a system cannot also hope to evolve a meaningful constitution.
Private Business Group
Almost all the people who make up the private business sector have large-scale businesses based on importation of equipment from the outside. They, therefore, must have import licences to function. They thus become dependent on those in the power positions within the system who have to give them favours for their very existence. They are engulfed by the system of favour giving and become subjugated to it. They, therefore, also lose their freedom and independence and become powerless to do anything. They become subjugated, and like the others do not have the posi- tion of freedom needed to evolve a constitution.The Workers
Workers living in the 'modern bubble' also work under conditions of service negotiated for them by their Trade Union Congress and approved by government. The majority are employed in the public sector: in the corporations, parastatal corporations, public institutions and the civil service.A small minority work for the private sector and for private institutions. Most of the time they wallow in an illusion of being independent and free, while in reality they are also controlled by government through their TUC, especially since their salaries, allowances and privileges are obtained from government. They are also forced to toe the line if and when the powers that be wished it. They are also, therefore, subjugated by the system and are in no position to evolve a constitution.
The City Unemployed
The city unemployed are made up mainly of middle school leavers, unskilled labourers, semi-skilled labourers, old women and young girls who have come from the rural set up to search for non existent jobs. They live in self-created slums on the outskirts of the city and most of them roam the streets. The younger ones hover around car parks in the shopping centres, restaurants, cinemas, airports and demand payment for having watched cars parked there. They roam the markets in search of head loads to carry for payment.A few enterprising ones try to shine shoes and to polish car windows screens while they are in motion on the roads. For survival in the cities, some turn to robbery and crime and cause anxiety and apprehension to the city affluent, whom they prevent from enjoying their acquired imported consumer goods in peace. Such people are definitely not in any position to evolve a constitution.
The Rural People
Majority of the rural people live in thatched roof mud huts. They don't belong to a recognised body like the TUC or a Professional Association, so no one bargains foreign for them for a minimum decent condition of service. They are not entitled to any salary, because they have no conditions of service. No allowances are payable to them, because they do not go on leave and they cannot officially register their legs as their official means of transport, and, therefore, cannot claim any maintenance allowance.They do not have roads, and as such, they cannot claim any mileage allowance. They are not on anybody's board of direc- tors, so they are not entitled to declare one source of allowance. Since they do not live in houses, they cannot claim rent allowance because that does not cover them. They are not entitled to any pipe- borne water, because the pipes are needed in the urban areas to provide water for the city folks so they can water their lawns. They don't have electricity, because they cannot pay for it.
A few enterprising ones try to shine shoes and to polish car window screens while they are in motion on the roads, for survival in the city. Some turn to robbery and crime and cause anxiety and apprehension to the city affluent, whom they prevent from enjoying their acquired imported consumer goods in peaceThey have no warm clothing allowance, because they do not travel abroad. They have no need for recreational centres, because they come home from the farm too tired. They need farming implements and inputs, but that cannot be provided immediately, because foreign exchange is scarce and what is available is tied up in bringing guns and ammunition, mackerel and sugar and essential commodities to feed the population in the 'modern bubble world'.
The needs of the rural majority are small because most of them are uneducated and it does not take much capital to take care of them. And yet this very small capital is not spent on them. They, therefore, continue to live in utter desolation and poverty. But yet with hardly any comforts; no equipment, no foreign exchange; with their bare hands and scanty implements and self-made foot paths they continue to produce 80% of the foodstuffs to feed the nation; 60% of the industrial raw materials and 62% of our foreign exchange earnings.
All the potential ingredients of freedom and independence exist under the rural economy. They have the potential of effective productivity without the dispense of exchange and imported machinery. Unfortunately, they are not educated enough, neither are they sufficiently enlightened to recognize their potential position, which with proper exploitation would give them the power to dominate; the power to develop on their own and to evolve a constitution.
They, however, in their ignorance continue to remain in utter poverty among riches, and continue to fight for their survival within a system created to exploit them.
Even the traditional rulers who occupy a most potentially strategic position in relation to the dual economy, do not recognize their potentially powerful posi- tion. They are essentially in the same advantageous position as were the oil producing Arab countries before they recognized their potential powers and organized themselves to create the oil crisis, which upset the economies of the world in the seventies, with repercussions still being felt.
NEXT WEEK: "Does Ghana have a chance?"
