Features
Let us never forget part 2
Forgiveness is important and is a Christian value which must be held in high esteem in every aspect of our lives.
This is one value that has kept us together as a people, given our tribal diversity as well as our different religious backgrounds. We must pray to God that he helps us to continue observance of this harmonious existence in this country but we must never forget the atrocities of the past especially during the 79 and 81 coups, so like the Jews we shall determine that never again.
The aftermath of the coups brought to the fore the vilest instincts of human nature. If someone had an axe to grind with you, all it took was for him or her to make a false charge against you, the soldiers and their civilian accomplices and you are in serious trouble.
We must never forget this tragedy as a nation and for all the young people who are clamouring for a coup, my advice to them is not to wish for their worst nightmare because history has shown us that, the aftermath of coups in this country, has always been pain and suffering.
A cousin of mine recounted the ordeal a Pastor had to go through. Apparently in one of the infamous ‘eye han, eye kanea’ episodes, a soldier stopped a passenger bus and ordered the passengers to come down. The passengers were ordered to form a queue which in local parlance is called ‘one logo logo line.’
They were then ordered to stop and watch what is between the legs of a naked woman lying on a table and then move on to get on the bus. Then it came to the turn of a man who then approached the soldier standing by the woman and told him that he is pleading with him to excuse him because he was a Pastor, a man of God so he cannot look at what the soldier is asking him to look at.
The soldier got infuriated, grabbed the man’s neck pushed it very close to the ‘thing’ while asking him ‘wo behwe ana se wonhwe’? In other words will you look at it or you will not? Just put yourself in the Pastor’s shoes and imagine what he went through.
I will never forget the plight of some juniors of mine who as a result of the confiscation of their grandfather’s factory resulted in severe financial hardships. People who were well to do had suddenly become vulnerable and it was sad to see the challenges they were going through.
People who were traders and had booming shops and thriving businesses, suddenly lost their livelihoods, all due to confiscation of their goods. Some people who could not handle the stress fell ill and never recovered.
Young people who experienced covid-19 were complaining that it was a terrible period. Well I have news for them. Ghanaians experienced fear under curfew not from a virus but from soldiers who can come and pick you up in the night, never to be seen or heard of again. There are families in Ghana still trying to find out what happened to their missing family members
The very things that the coup makers accused people in the government they overthrew and for which reason they came to power, they came to do worse things. Human rights of people are trampled upon and so we must remind ourselves every June about atrocities meted out to Ghanaians after coups so we never forget.
We must make it our duty to educate the youth in our various higher learning institutions, our Senior High Schools and even our primary schools so they would grow up hating coups. This is the only way to ensure that Democracy thrives.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
By Laud Kissi-Mensah