Political Education of the Ghana Armed Forces - Lecture 1
Ato Imbeah
Recently, Major-General Arnold Quainoo called for political education of the Ghana Armed Forces, Ato Imbeah reflects on the implications of this call.I have taken the privilege upon myself to deliver the first lecture on the political education of the Ghana Armed Forces as proposed by the PNDC. And the topic I have chosen for my deliberation is "The reason for the political education of the Armed Forces".
So involved and influential has government become in Ghana that there is no area of life that remains unaffected. Trivial things, like the price of a tin of milk is at stake in the political decisions of the time.
When free speech and secret ballot existed in Ghana, the people, informally as a series of public and formally as the electorate, exercised some influence over these decisions. They did not only vote, but in their discussion of public issues created, or at least reflected "a climate of opinion".
They exercised pressure in petitioning the government, they comprised the human reserve from whom emerged the grass roots leaders of party and nation.
Both the individual and society gain in the widespread exercise of the right to participate in democratic processes. Where people have political power they are treated better by the police, and where they achieve substantial political power, public housing, schools and other essential necessities of life as well as civil rights legislation are made available. The individual gains from his participation a variety of satisfaction including a "sense of purpose and belonging". A person's self-image is affected not only by the knowledge that he possesses a legal right, but also by the exercise of that right. Politics even help a person to legitimize and rationalize his aggression and toreduce the load of guilt he might otherwise bear.
Would political education make them think of constitutional change as opposed to violent change of Government?
Society also gains when any of its indi- vidual members becomes happier, richer and more satisfied with a situation he cannot change. Social gains are the increase in productivity of the nation, the removal of sources of inter-group and interpersonal tensions, the equitable distribution of the nation's goods and services, the preservation of a well- ordered but flexible society, the enhancement of human dignity, the enrichment of the culture, and the broadening of opportunity for each to develop his capacities as best he can.
But since 1981 Ghanaians have been denied their political participation, and so the general public have been denied the needed political education, thus discouraging the search for political understand-ng. But popular understanding of politics and public policy are desirable for a general understanding of the world we live in.
It is through this political participation that the people learn such concepts as "justice, freedom, capitalism, socialism and how they relate to the Ghanaian society". Participation increases with popular perception of the stakes in political decisions.
But the PNDC stalwarts have only deemed it sufficient enough to draw up a syllabus for the Armed Forces alone. First and foremost this move will bring about an increase in group identification and Ghanaians will conceive of themselves politically as the Armed Forces, barris- ters, working classes, nurses, teachers and students. And intransigence is a function of such status identification because status is less easily changed than party loyalty, and when it comes to this point, the weaker groups are always dominated by the stronger group, despite their number.
It is also a move by the military regime of the PNDC to entrench itself forever and firmly in power. In their political education, the Armed Forces would be taught to understand concepts like truth and power to help them uphold the revolutionary fervour, and power as defined in a revolutionary tone by Father Visser, is the ability to compel obedience', that is, to compel obedience to the revolutionary truths. It seems someone has been reading a lot about the rise of Napoleon in George Orwell's Animal Farm.
This political education is also believed to get the men in uniform well-informed According to Major-General Quainoo, revolutionary circumstances.
They are not learning politics for a sense of civic duty, not even for the 'love of the game', but to help broaden the acquaintance of the government with the people, after they have learnt the ability to compel obedience, and also to help the government withstand competing claims for political allegiance and activity. The pursuit of power is a primary motivating force in politics, and with military regimes it is to gain it and keep it, ceasing only when they die, using other men as means to their end, and always being seen as realistic, amoral and ruthless, just to assert themselves in a manner denying reciprocity, or no power for the other person.
On the 31st December 1981 broadcast, the military made their position very clear. "the military is not in to take-over. We simply want to be part of the decision- making process in this country."
But the military has been part of the decision-making process in Ghana since independence, as they form kin groups, territorial and neighbouring groups and also a functional group, which acts as pressure group and wielded considerable influence ever to the disadvantage of most of the other groups in the nation. So Major-General Quainoo's assertion that the 'revolution cannot thrive on ignor- ance' is not the case. The Armed Forces are being called to safeguard a 'revolution born out of ignorance'. Much of the politi- cal activity of democracy carries little or no power and very little prestige, but authoritarians are power seekers, searching out the power institutions of the society into which they are born and devoting themselves to the captive and use of government.
The military has been part of the decision-making process in Ghana since independence as they form kin groups, territorial and neighbouring groups and also a functional group acting as pressure group and wielded considerable influence...
Many Ghanaian governments, military or civilian, even as they failed to agree on the best means of attaining what is best for the country, and despite hindrances, disagreements or failures, held strongly that belief in reason and possibility of human progress, tolerance of widely different religious and political views, freedom of thought and criticism, impartial justice and that the rule of law go hand in hand with reliance on popular government and the responsibility of the rulers to the ruled. That is why Ghana has a history of elections and referendum, and this total participation by the people foster national unity and pride and ensures political education of all, military or civilian. By educating the Armed Forces alone on politics, the PNDC regime would be using democratic means to destroy demo- cratic principles, by denying the civilians a say in their own affairs. Even if they stand to gain nothing but a 'sense of pur- pose', there is a need for the whole people to experience the sense that they can in small measure influence their nation's destinies.
The political clock of Ghana came to a stop the day the soldiers flexed their muscles, and denied proper participation of the people in the running of the government.
"The use of force alone is but temporary. It may subdue for a moment but it does not subdue the necessity of subduing again: and a nation is not governed which is perpetually to be conquered."
(Edmund Burke's speech on Conciliation with America - 22 March 1775)
