A cross-section of Ghanaians gathered at the Revolution Square here on Saturday for a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the 35th anniversary of the December 21, 1981 revolution which brought former President, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings to power.
Wreaths were laid on behalf of the government and people of Ghana by the Greater Accra Regional, Minister, Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo, while others were laid on behalf of the security services, Chiefs and people of Ghana, among many others to the memory of the fallen heroes of the revolution.
Addressing the gathering, Rawlings noted that the defeat of ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) the party formed out of the revolution was the result of the departure from the core principles of probity, accountability and integrity which are the hallmarks of the revolution.
“I don’t think I was the only one who saw the writing on the wall. Many people from our very own party I believe, could see the writing on the wall that we were going to lose this past election. It was obvious a long time ago that we wouldn’t make it,” Rawlings noted.
He added; “Our general negativity, impunity, disrespect and corruption was taking us further and further downhill. About the time when most were living in the painful reality with stress and anger, that’s when some of us chose to be more impervious to reality. We had lost so much goodwill,” adding that although the signs were clear on the wall the ruling party ignored them.
The former president who is the official founder of the ruling NDC attributed the turn of events to the disrespect and disregard for the genuine and true founders and elders whom he described as warriors and youthful fighters of the revolutionary cadre front which was transformed into the NDC after the party’s electoral victory in 2008.
“The oppressive machinery will not desert us voluntarily. We need not shrink from honestly facing the conditions in our party and country today. This is the time to pre-eminently speak the whole truth, frankly and courageously,” the former president urged.
Traditional drums, state flutes and the last post were sounded in the solemn military tradition amidst the somber atmosphere that prevailed during the ceremony, with two former National Security Coordinators, and other former service commanders present to pay their last respect to their fallen colleagues.
A stalwart of the party, Augustus Tanoh cautioned that the politics of money that has been introduced into the country’s body politic was not only unsustainable but had also taken the voice from the ordinary man.
The common man must have a voice; the teeming youth who today find themselves without a job must have a voice. There is hope. And no need to despair. The defeat on 7 December is ours. It’s not orphan. We will profit from the lessons that it gave,” Tanoh pointed out with hope. Enditem
Source: NewsGhana
