Commemorating The Overthrow of President Limann

Commemorating the overthrow of president limann and the pnp government: lessons from our past “the military has no business in politics because they do not have the mandate and it is not their duty to seek political mandate. If national interests impel them to power, then they must immediately hand over to a democratically elected president who is recognised by the people in the constitution.”Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah The 31st of December of any given year should normally evoke feelings of gratitude to Providence for the outgoing year and feelings of hope and optimism for the incoming year. For many Ghanaians, each 31st of December brings with it painful memories of the events and consequences of the illegal overthrow of President Hilla Limann and PNP government, the then successor to the CPP by renegade elements of the military in 1981. Although the extremists within the NDC continue to celebrate the coup, the scale of and participation in the celebrations have been in decline since the Supreme Court ruled against the use of public funds to finance the celebrations. It is increasingly evident that its’ popularity is waning. Devoid of any enduring ideological or intellectual underpinning, with time and the passing of a generation, we remain of the view that the coup of 1981 will be remembered but only as a lesson from our past of the need to keep the military out of politics. Nkrumah Rising joins all Nkrumaists including the PNC, CPP and others in commemorating the 29th anniversary of this coup. Our hope remains that in a year’s time, as we commemorate the 30th anniversary of that coup, all commemorative lectures, workshops, press conferences and releases such as this, would be organised and held under the auspices of a single Nkrumaist political party formed through the merger of the PNC, CPP and the other Nkrumaist elements. In the meantime, let those of us who are Nkrumaists, do a number of things: 1. Take this opportunity to remind Ghanaians of the vital importance of Nkrumah's warning against military interventions and coups, which disrupt political and social processes. 2. Mark the 29th anniversary of the coup with the hope that the excesses committed during that period will never be repeated and call on all dedicated Nkrumaists within all parties including those temporarily within the NDC to join us in the struggle against political violence and the unnecessary polarization of our nation. In the coming year, we must uphold Nkrumah's call for national cohesion and do so in the spirit of reconciliation and healing.