Features
A dilemma called Ghana (Part 4)
Ghana’s coat of arms
In this penultimate edition of my five-part series on the above topic, I seek to discuss the road to what has become wrongly termed the Fourth Republic. I make this assertion because Ghana has never been re-colonised since our independence on March 6, 1957, and our republican status in 1960.
I will look at certain landmarks since the 31st December Revolution that brought Jerry Rawlings back into the saddle, this time with a Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) that ruled for eleven years.
I was on a short holiday in Ghana when 31st December happened and I went through the hassle of chasing an exit permit to be able to fly out of the country. That period saw the harshest hamarttan season I have ever witnessed.
Once again, many Ghanaians supported the return of Rawlings since the PNP administration was bickering within itself instead of focussing on governance. Workers Defence Committees (WDC) and People’s Defence Committees (PDC) were set up to uphold and ensure probity and accountability with revolutionary fervour.
These committees were later to merge as Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR). The CDR were empowered to adjudicate and resolve certain petty litigations. Public Tribunals were set up to fast track legal matters since the courts were considered too slow with justice delivery.
But the Revolution was roundly condemned in the Western media. Nigerian media were vociferous in their condemnation of the situation in Ghana. Their stance was to shift later in 1982, when Rawlings attended an ECOWAS meeting in Lagos. As part of his closing remarks, Rawlings said something to the effect that their deliberations would be meaningless if the conference was just a forum for drinking wine and photo ops and no action was taken.
By that delivery, Rawlings became the darling of the Nigerian media. And that respect has been there to date. No wonder Nigerians kept saying that if we did not want Rawlings, we should send him to them.
However, that country was to deport over a million and a half Ghanaians in 1983. I was reporting on the harrowing experience the deportees were facing in various suburbs of Lagos for the media organisation I was an intern with in that country. Many lost their belongings or gave them away at ridiculously low prices. Some others ran back to Ghana with vehicles belonging to their bosses.
Our compatriots came home to a country that was suffering a devastating drought and bush fires with virtually no food to feed the masses. But the PNDC marshalled a team to get the returnees settled. The National Mobilisation Programme was set up, and that became a rallying point for disaster management.
The Programme was to settle the returnees within 90 days. It later set up Mobisquads that engaged in replanting cocoa plantations burnt by wildfires on a voluntary basis. They were in every corner of the country, helping farmers, and food production was on the mend.
The PNDC encouraged women’s participation in the decision making process. The 31st December Women’s Movement idea, which was originally mooted by the likes of Mrs. Nicol, Cecilia Johnson, Sherry Ayittey, and others, became concretised and put women empowerment on a high pedestal under the presidency of Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, wife of Jerry Rawlings.
Rawlings’ charisma and bonding with the people were the rallying points for the national drive to change the direction of governance where the people owned their decisions. But dissent was growing both at home and abroad. As the pressure gathered momentum, the PNDC set up a National Commission for Democracy to collect and collate views on the way forward for the country.
The verdict was that Ghana needed a return to constitutional democracy. As a result, a consultative assembly was elected to draft a constitution that was put to the people in a referendum for approval. The 1992 Constitution was, therefore, overwhelmingly endorsed by Ghanaians.
The fact that constitutional democracy was being restored did not mean the PNDC was a failure. Road infrastructure, schools, health facilities, and some industries were improved to appreciable levels, thanks to Rawlings’ personal hands-on approach to leadership. Professionalism was injected into the Armed Forces, which to a large extent won them the respect they had lost under the SMC regimes.
Many political parties sprang up for Election 1992. The actors of the PNDC formed the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nkrumah’s CPP was splintered into many parties and the Progress Party became the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Rawlings won the presidential election as the NDC candidate against the NPP’s Prof. Albert Adu Boahen. Not satisfied with the result, the NPP boycotted the parliamentary vote.
The NDC again won the general elections in 1996 with the NPP entering Parliament this time. Constitutional democracy was working for Ghana. With this came many structural reforms in education, the judiciary, commerce, and health delivery.
The revolutionary verve was receding as government policies were scrutinised and dissected by the opposition and the media. Though Rawlings’s charisma was intact, democratic protocols impeded his free-spirited leadership style. Ordinary people’s access to him was restricted. Though he found a way to break protocol occasionally, it was very few and far between.
Election 2000 saw the NPP win under the leadership of Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor. The campaign was toxic, with the NPP accusing the NDC of corruption and lacking the economic savvy to continue in power. The NDC, on the other hand, pointed to the political antecedents of the tribalistic divisiveness of the NPP.
The NPP declared Ghana a highly indebted poor country (HIPC), a situation that made lending countries forgive the country’s debts. It allowed for more inflows of cash and grants. The cedi was re-denominated with three zeroes yanked off. A thousand cedis then became One Ghana Cedi. It is instructive that even today, some Ghanaians refer to the cedi in the old terms. A hundred cedis is still One Million, isn’t it?
Professor John Evans Atta Mills, the NDC candidate and who was Rawlings’ Vice President, took the electoral loss in stride and bided his time. He lost again to Kufuor in 2004. With campaign messages of corruption and nepotism against the Kufuor administration, the NDC took the electoral fight to the NPP.=
The HIPC idea had lost steam, and the government took the country out of the programme and began a new journey into the international borrowing market. Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, with John Dramani Mahama as running mate, won Election 2008 against the NPP’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
I recall a private chat he had with me after I interviewed him at the NDC congress at the University of Ghana in 2006. Prof. Mills told me why he wanted to be president. He said, “My brother, as humans, we must abhor greed and selfishness in public office. Birds sing without seeking an audience. Flowers give out fragrances, asking for nothing in return. Trees take carbon dioxide and give us oxygen, but only humans have the propensity to cheat nature and their fellow humans. This must stop.”
Prof. Mills epitomised what the import of his chat with me portrayed throughout his time as President. A deeply religious man, he did not shy away from holding occasional prayer sessions at the presidency, to the chagrin of the opposition. He was visibly furious with state institutions whose staff condoned acts of corruption.
In spite of his health concerns, Atta Mills was on top of national issues until his sudden death on July 24, 2012, at age 68. I was in New York when my daughter called to inform me. At JFK that evening, other passengers on our flight to Accra got to know as I was discussing the sad situation with a classmate of the late President.
John Dramani Mahama was to be sworn in as President that evening in accordance with constitutional provisions.
By Dr Akofa K. Segbefia
Writer’s email address:
akofa45@yahoo.com
When Abigail Fremah steps up to the Armwrestling table, the noise fades, the tension settles, and order takes over.
Despite a calm, but firm and meticulous disposition, she has become one of the quiet forces shaping Ghana’s growing reputation in the sport, not as an athlete, but a referee trusted on the continental stage.
Abigail’s journey into Armwrestling did not begin at the table. Like many Ghanaian sports enthusiasts, she grew up playing several disciplines. Football was her first love, but she also featured in volleyball and basketball during her school years. Sports, she says, was simply a way of life not just for her.
“It runs through the family. All my siblings are into sports,” she stated.
“I was involved in almost every sport in school, football, volleyball, netball, hockey; I did everything,” she recalls.
Her academic background in Health, Physical Education and Recreation laid a solid foundation for her sporting career. While on scholarship at the university (University of Cape Coast), she often used her modest budget to support young athletes, sometimes sharing skills and even T-shirts at programmes she attended. Giving back, she explains, has always been part of her motivation.
However, as she matured as an athlete, Abigail made a critical self-assessment.
“Armwrestling involves a lot of strength,” she admits. “Looking at my body type, I realised I couldn’t fit properly as a competitive athlete.”
That moment of honesty pushed her to a different trajectory but equally important path in sports; which is officiating.
During her National Service, she was encouraged by Mr Charles Osei Asibey, the President of the Ghana Armwrestling Federation (GAF), to consider officiating. He introduced her to a technical official, Mr Hussein Akuerteh Addy, who formally took her through the basics of Armwrestling officiating in 2021.
“I started as a case official,” she says. “We moved from region to region every week, officiating competitions. That’s where it all began.”
By 2022, Abigail was actively involved in national assignments, though she missed the African Championship that year. Her breakthrough came in 2023, when Ghana hosted the African Armwrestling Championship.
It was her first experience officiating at a major international competition and it changed everything.
“That was my first national and international exposure at the same time,” she says. “It really opened my eyes.”
Today, Abigail is a World Junior Armwrestling Referee, a status earned through performance, consistency and discipline. She explains that progression in officiating was not automatic.
“It’s all about performance, your appearance at African Championships, your conduct, how you handle pressure; that’s what takes you to the world level,” she stressed.
As a referee, Abigail’s priority is safety and fairness. Armwrestling, she notes, comes with risks, particularly injuries to the wrists, elbows, shoulders and arms.
“If athletes don’t follow the rules or refuse to listen to officials, injuries can happen,” she explains, adding that focus was everything.
Before every match, she ensures that all equipment which includes elbow pads, hand pegs and table alignment were properly set. Athletes are not allowed to cover their elbows, must grip correctly, and must follow the referee’s commands precisely.
“We make sure everything is fixed before the grip,” she says. “Once we say ‘Ready… Go’, there should be no confusion.”
She is also firm on discipline. Warnings are issued for infractions, and repeated misconduct attracts penalties.
“The referee must be respected, if you don’t listen, the rules will deal with you,” she says.
Abigail credits her confidence partly to her sporting family background. Her mother was a volleyball player, while other family members also participated in sports. Though they were initially concerned about her safety, her rise to the top reassured them.
“They were afraid at first,” she admits. “But they were also very proud, especially because some of them never got the opportunity to reach this level.”
Looking ahead, Abigail is optimistic about the future of Armwrestling in Ghana. In less than a decade, the country has produced African and world-level medalists, a sign, she believes, of great things to come for Ghana.
“Whenever we go out, we come back with medals such as gold and silver,” she says, and to her that was a sign of growth.
In the next five to ten years, Abigail sees herself rising to become a World Master Referee, the highest officiating level in the sport. Until then, her routine remains intense, training four times a week, working closely with athletes, standing on her feet for hours, and constantly refining her understanding of the rules.
“I love this sport,” she says simply. “That love is what keeps me going.”
Abigail encouraged women to be bold and intentional about their place in sports saying “don’t limit yourself because of fear or stereotypes.”
She also urged women to invest in learning, discipline and consistency, stressing that respect was earned through performance.
For Abigail, as Ghana’s armwrestlers continue to make their mark, she will remain where she is most effective at the table, ensuring the game is played right.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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As he had promised Aperkeh, the elderly man and his wife and three daughters stopped by Aperkeh’s parents’ house. Mr Amando and his family were preparing to settle in for the night.
“Brother Ben and family”, Mr Joshua Amando said warmly, “although I know you are here on a matter that can hardly be described as joyous, it is still good to see you. You are welcome. Please sit down while I bring you water”.
“Yes, we will take water, even though we are hardly thirsty, because this is our home”.
“Okay, Ben”, he started after they had drank, “Let me go straight to the point. My daughter Priscilla has told me about the goings on between her brother Aperkeh and our daughter Stella.
Before informing me, Priscilla had expressed concern to Aperkeh about some habits he is adopting, especially the late nights and the drinking. She tells me that one Saturday morning, she was there when Stella complained about his drinking and some girls who had come to the house to look for him, and he assaulted her.
I called him and complained, but all he could say was that I don’t know what caused him to react that way, so I could not judge him. Now he does not answer my calls.
I have sent Priscilla to his house to call him, but he has refused to come. Unfortunately, Ben, my son is a much different person than the young boy who completed university and started work at the bank. I am really embarrassed about his treatment of Stella”.
“Joshua, let me assure you that even though what is happening is very unfortunate, it will not affect our relationship.
We have been friends since childhood, and I thought that with their parents’ blessing, the relationship between Aperkeh and Stella would grow to become a blessing to all of us. But there appears to be a real challenge now.
Stella thinks that Aperkeh wants her out of his house, and indeed Aperkeh himself told me that, about an hour ago.
So I’m taking my daughter home. I suggest that you do what you can to straighten him out, but if it does not work out, let’s accept the situation and continue to be one family.
I am sure that being the well behaved girl that she is, Stella will meet a young man who will cherish her. Fortunately, this problem is happening early in the day, so they can sort things out if possible, or move on with their lives if they are unable to stay together”.
“I’m really grateful for that, Ben. I will do my best in the next few days to reason with him, because apart from the relationship with Stella, Aperkeh is risking his job and career with this lifestyle.
A good job and salary offers an opportunity to gather momentum in life, not to destroy yourself”.
“Okay Brother Joshua. We will say goodnight. I hope to hear positive news from you”.
As he descended in the lift from the fourth to the ground floor, Aperkeh wondered who would be waiting at the reception to see him at nine on Monday morning. He had spent good time with both of his new girls during the weekend, so it had to be someone else. He got out of the lift and pulled a face when he saw Priscilla.
“Priscilla”, he said as he sat down by her, “what do you want here? You know Monday morning is a busy time at the bank. I am a very busy person, so say what you want, I have work to do”.
“You are very funny, Aperkeh. You are telling me, your sister, that you have work to do, so I should hurry up? Okay, Dad says I should advise you to come home tonight, because he wants to discuss the issue of Stella with you. He sent me to you twice, and you did not come.
He has tried to call you quite a number of times, but you have refused to answer his calls. He says that if you do not come tonight, you will be very surprised at what he will do. He says you will not like it at all, so better come.
“What is all this? Why won’t you people leave me alone? Stella is very disrespectful. I told her that if she wanted to continue to live in my house, she must obey me. It is that simple.
She chose to continue ordering me about, controlling me in my own house, so I told her that if she could not live under my conditions she should leave. And she left. In fact, her own father came and took her away. So what again?’’
“How did she disobey or control you? Was she complaining about your continuous drinking and late nights? And did you slap her on several occasions because of that? Did you tell her that if she could not live under your conditions she should leave? You actually said that to her father? You have forgotten that before she came to live with you, our two parents met and agreed, and gave it their blessing?’
“Why don’t you leave, Priscilla? I don’t have to listen to all that”. “Okay, I will go. Your father who gave birth to you and educated you to university level sends me to you, and you ask me to leave? I wish you would defy him, and refuse to come home as he’s telling you, because he is planning to give you the discipline you badly need. Let me tell you. Stella is such a beautiful and decent girl, and I assure you that someone will grab her before you say Jack. You are only 30 years old, and you have already become a drunkard”.
As he walked towards the lift, Aperkeh decided on what to do. He would go home, and calmly listen to what his father had to say. The old man was very unpredictable, and he wouldn’t dare ignore him. So he would take all the insults and threats, but as for Stella she was history. According to Priscilla, Stella was beautiful and all that, but she had not seen the two curvaceous princesses who were all over him, ready to do anything he asked. And these were not barely literate waakye girls, but university graduates from wealthy homes, really classy girls. With stuff like that, who needs a waakye girl? He smiled as he took his seat.
A few minutes to five, Aperkeh was packing up to leave for home to meet his dad when his phone rang. It was Priscilla.
“Aperkeh, Dad says you don’t need to bother to come. Stella’s dad says she came to him early this morning to plead that she would rather stay at home than return to your house. She thinks you are already decided to be rid of her, and she does not want to risk being assaulted again. So it’s done. You can go ahead and enjoy the nice life you have started”.
Before he could tell her to go to hell, Priscilla hanged up the line. He was partially stung that his dad had virtually cut him off. The last thing anyone would want was to fall out of relationship with his own family, which had always supported him.
But the truth was he was no longer interested in Stella. What was wrong with going by one’s feelings? He could only hope that one day, his parents and sister would try to reason with him.
By Ekow de Heer
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