Blaise Campaore overthrew his former ally, Thomas Sankara on October 15, 1987, a coup d’état that resulted in the death of the latter. Since then he had won elections from 1991 until 2010 – a total of four terms.

It’s no mere coincidence that after borrowing ideas from several other writers, Lord Acton, the 19th century  British politician came to a conclusion that: “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men”.

From October 28 to 31, 2014, Burkinabes took to the streets of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso and other parts of the country to express their disagreement about the will of the people that had been manipulated in the past and was then about to be manipulated to extend a twenty-seven year rule to only God knows when.

The sovereign power of every nation emanates from the people. It’s unlawful that, that sovereign power is twisted to satisfy the whims and caprices of a few people who are bent on remaining in power or keeping their kith and kin in power. The silence of the people is what bolsters the action of those who manipulate the constitution.

If Burkinabes had sat down in silence and watched, Blaise Campaore and his cohorts would still have been in the helm of affairs. This action is what has encouraged Togolese to rise to the occasion and ensure that the wrong that was done in the past be corrected and then prevent a possible manipulation of the will of the people. No wonder one of the protesters on the streets of Lome, the capital of Togo, had a placard which had this inscription: “dictatorship feeds on silence and inactivity”.

Until recently, people power was not popular in Africa until it brought down the governments of Hosni Mubarak of Egypt as well as Zine Ben Ali of Tunisia. Blaise Campaore never expected that the powerful wind of people power would blow him out of Burkina Faso.

Faure Gnassingbe Eyadema is the latest to be faced with people power. Over the last couple of months the streets of Togo have been bristling with demonstrators who are demanding that the President, Faure Gnassingbe Eyadema steps down.  The chickens have come home to roost. Faure Gnassingbe Eyadema has been in power since 2005 and is in his third term.

As Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Faure Gnassingbe must take cognisance of the fact that the whole world is watching every move of his. It’s clear that Faure Gnassingbe and most leaders in the sub-region and on the continent have not learnt that,  the sovereign will of the people can never be taken from them.

The rise against Faure Gnassingbe is a slap in the face of those who voted him into the position of Chairperson of ECOWAS. It shows that the leaders of the sub-region don’t consider the democratic credentials of those they make a Chairperson. Isn’t it sad? The situation in Togo needs immediate attention. It’s imperative that the Heads of State in the sub-region map out diplomatic strategies to bring an end to the unfortunate events in Togo. The protestors are asking for some reforms. There’s the need to look at their demands and meet it. Togolese have been silent for the last fifty years. Isn’t that enough reason to look into the matter and address it?

A constitutional amendment that ends up keeping a government or its kith and kin in power is akin to dictatorship and an affront to good governance.

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By: Alex Blege

The writer is a freelance journalist. [email protected]/[email protected]

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The young cadres made a clarion call on the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to revisit the ideals of the party as part of efforts to rebuild it for victory in 2020.

Numbering about five hundred, the young cadres marched from the Emefs Police station along the main Akosombo road to Afienya, where they converged on the main lorry park to address the charged members.

Addressing the crowd who were joyfully chanting and dancing to NDC tunes, the spokesperson for the group, Oko Mensah, noted that the walk was supposed to remind themselves of the ideals of the party and also remind the party hierarchy of concerns raised by the grassroots for possible redress.

“This walk is the first of its kind in the constituency and it is geared towards reminding ourselves of the ideals of the party now that we are in opposition. It is important we do the right thing as a party and believers of June 4”

He said “the party was formed on three values which are; probity, accountability and social justice, and these values are still relevant today hence the celebration of the day.”

Mr. Oko Mensah noted that, the 2017 theme for the June 4 celebration, which is ‘Probity, Accountability and Truth in contemporary governance’, is very much appropriate, and must be deeply thought through by every member of the party.

He urged all to think over the theme and work towards it to ensure the victory of the party come 2020.

The Chairman of the NDC in the constituency, Jonas Tetteh, also sent a signal to the party leadership in the constituency to ensure they follow the laid down procedures in the upcoming NDC constituency branches re-organisation exercise.

“We are sending a clear message to our party leadership in the constituency to think through the theme for this year’s June 4 event and do the right thing in the branch re-organisation or face our wrath. We must work together as a team and a party so that ultimately we achieve a common victory in 2020.”

Some of the members of the young cadres who spoke in an interview, were happy the young cadres in the constituency put together the constituency June 4 March to remind them of the relevance of the day.

“We are happy for this march today because we feel it is about time, we revisit the ideals of our party and act accordingly to ensure we wrestle power from the NPP in 2020” they said.

Rawlings to address grand June 4 durbar in Wa

Meanwhile, former President Jerry John Rawlings will climax this year’s June 4 anniversary with a grand durbar in the Upper West Regional capital of Wa on Sunday June 4, 2017.

A statement issued by the June 4th Anniversary Planning committee said the leader of the June 4 uprising and Chairman of the AFRC, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings, will be the keynote speaker at the durbar to climax activities marking the 38th anniversary of the uprising.

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By: Elvis Washington/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ningo Prampram Young Cadres march to mark June 4 revolution appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

President Mills died on July 24, 2014 at the 37 Military Hospital.

The ceremony was attended by President John Mahama, President John Rawlings, leading members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and hundreds of Ghanaians.

President Mahama and Naadu Mills laid a wreath on behalf of Ghanaians at the ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony,the former Majority leader in Parliament,  Cletus  Avoka described the late President as “a very loving, disciplined and religious man.”

“As a President, he led a moral crusade for this country. He preached discipline, he preached unity, he preached love, he preached understanding. Those were very big virtues that Presidnet Mills stood for,” he said.

The former Director of Communications at the presidency, Koku Anyidoho also described the late President Mills as a great leader.

“President Mills was no ordinary person, as humble as he was and never flaunted who he was. Its so practicable that he was really a great leader, a great father, a great tutor, a great mentor and a great person to be around.”

Speaking to Citi News, the son of the late President, Fiifi Mills said  “it’s been a different experience” since his father passed on.

“It’s been a very major transition in my life. It just happened suddenly so we have to try and adjust to the new changes, “he said.

He mentioned that his father’s death also “brought another level of maturity and growth and taught him a lot of things in life.”

Fiifi Mills further expressed his gratitude to the NDC and Ghanaians for taking the decision  to commemorate his father’s death saying “I am very happy that two years on he is still being celebrated. I didn’t really expect much but for the people of Ghana and government to remember him two years on, I was very happy about that .”

President Mills was from Ekumfi Otuam in the Central region of Ghana.

He was born in Tarkwa on 21 July 1994.

By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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