We, the students of Ghana, have been watching with seemingly gross indifference but with patience and critical minds, the recent developments which have come about as a result of the change in leadership of the Supreme Military Council. Now, we would like to address ourselves to the subject of the country’s return to civilian rule and some salient points which were raised in the Head of State’s address to the nation on Monday July 31, 1978 on the same and other matters. 

After serious deliberation on the matter, it has become imperative that we register our total dismay at the programme to return the country to a so-called constitutional rule as announced by him and our inability to accept it. 

When the military took over the administration of the country in 1972, their declaration was that the Government that was in power was incapable of managing the economy of the country and that they (ie. the military) had come to put the country’s economy on a sound footing. They accused the men and their policies only: they never alleged that the party form of government was a contributory factor to our economic woes; neither did the military allege that the 1969 constitution for that matter was unsuitable or subversive to the economy. 

If therefore the military has decided to return to the barracks ‘which in itself is a highly debatable fact’ after realising their unparalleled incompetence in the administration of the nation and its economy, then the most logical thing expected is a quiet withdrawal to the barracks and the subsequent restoration of the freedom of association to the people to organise themselves into political parties and elect people of their own free choice to administer the affairs of the nation. We do not find it necessary to repeat once more the irreparable damage that an open-to-all, unorganised political campaign will cause. They are too glaring. 

We find it difficult to believe that the programme as announced could be the result of any fresh thinking on the part of the S.M.C. We cannot decipher any meaningful difference structurally, between the concept of the so-called Union/National Government as contained in the Koranteng-Addow Committee Report, General Acheampong’s ‘created child’ and the National Government announced by the Head of State in his broadcast. No wonder theAugust 1st, 1978 editorial of the People’s Evening News, a Union Government back-bencher, took the announcement with such profound joy. 

What is worse is the clever introduction of the four year  transitional period. This new element has raised questions which go to compound our anathema many more trickery inherent in the concept of against a government the Union or National, one which seeks to take away named mental right of Ghanaians to freely associate for political action and which also lends support to each according person to put up a one-man show according to one’s own whims and caprices, It cannot be General Acheampong’s lesson is too fresh in our minds. 

Countrymen, after the four years of transitional what will follow? Another referendum to decide  on the future form of government? We must not seek to postpone the inevitable. Let us face the consequences like true fighters. We must learn to do the things the S.M.C. wishes Ghanaians do NOW. It is not practically impossible to draft and promulgate a permanent constitution for the country before July 1, 1979. 

A Transitional (Interim) Government must necessarily have to incorporate the S.M.C. It is logical and necessary. If this happens, then wherein lies the credibility of the S.M.C that it wants to hand over power by July 1st 1979. We do not want to be forced into the belief that this new arrangement is another ruse to perpetuate or rather prolong the existence of the S.M.C. and in the process cover up any lapses that have occurred in their administration. 

We are asserting that the Koranteng-Addow Committee Report which states that a National form of government excluding the ARMY and the POLICE is the wish of the people of Ghana was/is the product of the minds of sycophants and men of “doubtful ability and dubious intentions” and therefore does not represent the true views of Ghanaians. 

We wish to remind the S.M.C. that the issue of the fraudulent referendum on Union Government which the S.M.C. itself has admitted as having divided the nation was based on a political scheme which sought to take away the right of the people of this country to politcal association. 

Ghanaians and we, the students in particular, fought in diverse ways against this political enslavement under the battering of police truncheons, armoured cars etc; some have. lost their lives and others have been maimed. We stood our ground not in mere protest against nomenclature or the semantics in the terminology of “Union Government as against National Government.” The fight was for the right of a truly free people to associate for political action and usher us into a socially democratic state. We do not see this fundamental right guaranteed by a national government elections conducted without the involvement of political groupings. We reiterate that any meaningful National Government must be a coalition of political parties for which provision must be made in an appropriate permanent constitution and which may spread over a limited number of years. 

We students of Ghana, see it as our duty to warn any group of people, no matter their status in society, that any wily attempt fundamental to rob Ghanaians of their  right to associate freely for political action will launch the nation into another dangerous crisis. At this stage of our history, we need not encourage or condone any clandestine or underground associations. Such clandestine associations may be acting as frontmen of certain group or individual interests which are reprehensible and dangerous to the people and which will be rejected in toto if they are overtly known. As the Standard rightly stated in its editorial of August 6, “to us there is a greater danger in the secret pacts and under- ground parties than in forcing things into the open in order to effectively control them.” It is not too late to avert the imminent danger which will make nonsense of all that the S.M.C. desires to achieve for this dear country of ours. 

If the ‘withdrawal’ of the Army and the Police from the so-called National/Union Government is the deal that could be offered after the promised reappraisal of the political situation, then it is too raw for our consumption. We must also be quick to point out that we are aware of the reactio- nary role the chiefs have played so far during the short term of office of the reconstituted S.M.C. No doubt the S.M.C. has listened to them a great deal as a group and individually as the ones with responsible opinion. But we wish to remind the S.M.C. that the very chiefs who pledged their unflinching support to General Acheampong, who pledged their stools etc. now finding themselves uncomfortable, are today parad-ing the corridors of influence to save them from the inevitable reality. So long as there are groups that continue to grope about in the fear of their own shadows the people’s legitimate aspirations will continuously be stifled under several pretences but we the students shall never allow it. 

Again we must mention that at this crucial period, emo- tional appeals to save the country from being “plunged into the dark waters of confusion” cannot be the panacea to our political problem. It is a problem that demands realism and a practical approach and to our mind, there is only one clear way— organised political activity. 

Furthermore we, the students, wish to seize this oppor- tunity to express our bewilderment at the ‘promised re- constitution’ of the Constitution Drafting Commission which has turned out to mean not a reconstitution as is generally understood but an increase in the membership of a Commission whose very functions have become amorphous. 

We are constrained, indeed, to come out at this time with this demand but we cannot afford to do otherwise since that will be tantamount to conspiring with state plunderers, loo- ters and subversionists, to declare that General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, the ex-Chairman of the Supreme Mili- tary Council, his henchmen and all retired senior Army personnel who held state offices MUST BE PROBED outright. There is no question of any delay, and that if ever any of such people is allowed to sneak out of the country it will imply too much and we shall react promptly. 

In like manner, all deportations should cease; any of such people should be held legally by the Police on charges of fraud against the state; their presence is vital if certain facts about General Acheampong and others are to be established and if a better and a more revealing testimony is to be obtai ned as to the dubious naturalisation of those “Levantine” businessmen. 

Secondly, in view of the fact that a solid constitution for posterity which is divested of personal interest or group protection can only be drawn and promulgated when the government of the S.M.C. has withdrawn from office; and in the light of our present political experience and our desire to restore the people’s confidence in the electoral system and in order not to postpone further the advancement of this country to constitutional maturity and stability by any period of time;

We the students of Ghana hereby leadership to do the following: urge the new S.M.C. 

(a) Publicly renounce the concept of Union/National Government which is based on the philosophy of”no-party state” and which has shattered of peace we were enjoying 

 (b) Immediately hand over to an interim government whose duty will be to supervise the process of returning the country to a properly and popularly organised government by July 1, 1979 

(c) That the Interim Government as we previously stated should be made up of the following: 

• • The members of the reconstituted S.M.C. 
  • The Trades Union Congress
  • The Farmers’ Council
  • The Bar Association
  • One other Representative of the Professional Bodies Association
  • The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG)
  • Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT)
  • Christian Council of Ghana
  • Catholic Secretariat
  • The Moslem Representative Council
  • National Council on Women and Development.
  • The Bench
  • National Youth Council 

That all these members forming the interim Government should meet and elect one of their members to be the Head of the interim Government and Head of State of Ghana. That consequent to this, the S.M.C./N.R.C. Government should announce its resignation from office and hand over to the new body. 

That immediately upon assuming office, the new interim Government will initiate action for the appointment of a Constitution Drafting Committee to sit, and draft a new constitution using previous constitutions as a basis and taking cognisance of our political past. 

That the new Constitution should be promulgated by January 1979 to be followed immediately by an official dissolution of the committee and the official lifting of the ban on political activities. 

That general elections by Universal Adult Suffrage be conducted in time to enable the establishment of a properly and popularly constituted civilian government by July 1, 1979.

To our mind, the mood and supreme interest of the country cannot allow for further experimentation and schemes meant to build an insurance against accountability. 

The interest of the nation as a whole is paramount and it cannot be subjugated to any other interest. We, the youth of this country, to which the future belongs, cannot be unconcerned about events that are going to affect our life in the future. We lay claim to a greater stake in the future of this country and are therefore demanding a permanent Constitution now as of right. 

We are NOT interested in this transitory arrangement designed to cater for personal and class interests, and to eliminate any element of surprise, the Student Movement wishes to state in conclusion that reasonable steps will be taken to see to the realisation of our aspirations. 

Signed: (E. A. WINFUL) 

1ST VICE-PRESIDENT

Read other press releases by NUGS below

• 1968-Statement To The Press By NUGS On The “Legon Incidence”
• 1974-The National Union Of Ghana Students Press Release
• 1978-National Union Of Ghana Students Press Release