The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has urged the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to uphold and defend the Constitution despite the lapses in the supreme law of the land
It said the GAF ought to remain loyal to and uphold the constitution as it had done over the past three decades, to deepen the country’s democracy and maintain its enviable peace and stability.
Mr Samuel Asare Akuamoah, a Deputy Chairman of the Commission in charge of Operations, made the call when he addressed some officers and men of the GAF in Accra, as part of activities to commemorate this year’s Constitution Week.
The week-long celebration, among other things, is to create and sustain awareness of the principles and objectives of the 1992 Constitution to deepen and sustain Ghana’s democracy.
It is also to sensitise Ghanaians on the need for national unity and peaceful co-existence and inculcate into the citizens the spirit of patriotism.
The theme for the 2023 celebration is, “Thirty Years of Consolidating Democracy: Building National Cohesion through Civic Education and Participation in Local Governance.”
Mr Akuamoah explained that although there were lapses in parts of the 1992 Constitution which prevented it from effectively delivering the required development, the legislation had also served Ghanaians well in the past 30 years.
He praised the armed forces for playing a critical role in maintaining constitutional rule for the past three decades despite the 1992 constitution’s failings.
“In operating this Constitution this far, we cannot downplay your role and I want to emphasise that whatever you have done during these 30 years, you either improve on it or you maintain it because your effort has helped us.
“Nobody has been able to overthrow any civilian regime and you have professionally ‘subordinated’ yourself to the civilian authorities, so, you deserve our commendation, and everybody living in Ghana and elsewhere must doff off our hat for you for this enviable feat,” he said.
Instituted in 2001, Constitution Week was to commemorate the country’s return to constitutional rule on January 1, 1993.
Mr Akuamoah charged the GAF to continue to play its role of protecting the country from external threats, especially with the recent activities of violent extremists within the Sahel region.
“The role the Constitution has assigned to you is to defend our territorial air, to defend our territorial sea and to defend our territorial land. You are doing it. Let no one distract you from performing this function which you have performed so ably,” he emphasised.
The NCCE Deputy Chairperson urged Ghanaians to participate in the upcoming district-level governance to strengthen Ghana’s democracy.
Brigadier-General Michael Opoku, Director General, Human Resource, GAF, said the Armed Forces was “happy to live in this constitutional era.”
“We are happy to be guided by rules and regulations, the laws of the country, because we don’t want to live in what Thomas Hobbes describes as the State of Nature, where life is brutish, short and nasty.”
Brig. Gen. Opoku, however, bemoaned the continuous decline in military-civilian relations, which in recent years had led to the loss of life on both the civilian and military sides
He thus implored the NCCE and other relevant state agencies to intensify education on military-civilian relations to foster peace and harmony.
Mr Victor Brobbey, a Deputy Chairperson in charge of Administration and Finance at the NCCE, also cautioned the media on the need for circumspection when reporting on matters of violence involving military personnel and civilians to ensure the harmonious coexistence of the two sides.
