President John Mahama
One of the determinants of the health of a democracy is tolerance for dissent by those at the helm of state management, otherwise called government.
Zero tolerance for expressions which are not palatable to the ears of the President and his government is something which cherishers of democracy should not tolerate.
Resisting oppressors rule is enshrined in our national anthem for good reasons. Indeed, when President John Dramani Mahama was leader of the opposition, he wrote an epic letter to the then President Akufo-Addo in which he took exception to what he said were instances of impediments to free speech.
As a member of the Ghana Journalists’ Association, those who read his open correspondence to the President at the time thought he had good cause to pen his observations.
While his supporters found it appropriate, the general apolitical observer wondered what he was talking about. But in a democracy in which all must be allowed to express themselves without hindrance, it was read and discussed in various circles. Nobody at the time would think that under a President John Mahama administration, social media activists would spend a fortnight or so in police detention because their expressions ruffled the feathers of the President or his appointees.
Once upon a time, a child posed an interesting question to the then President Akufo-Addo about how he kept his cool when he is criticised by his opponents. His response was that he believes in having an ambience in which dissenting opinions are allowed to fester without hindrance, adding that this is favourable for good governance.
Today, under the watch of President John Mahama, the level of political intolerance is beyond compare with his predecessor’s.
The former Vice President and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had good reason to take issues with the level of the misuse of state power by President John Mahama.
The existence of an opposition makes democracy complete in a country where the people choose this form of government.
It is reprehensible therefore when as being witnessed today, persons expressing themselves even through colours are whisked away to special courts where they are punished through a remand system even before they are heard.
It is instructive to recall the level of abrasive expressions minders of the then opposition heaped upon the images of former President Akufo-Addo and his appointees. There was no doubt about an orchestrated propaganda of invectives paid-for against government at the behest of the Mahama-led opposition. Today, a little dose of what pertained then cannot be tolerated by the President and his team.
A demonstration is ongoing in Sunyani today to protest government intimidation of the opposition. We have descended to a worrying low on the democracy ladder.
Zero tolerance for freedom of expression does not work, and history is replete with evidence about its unproductiveness. Kwame Nkrumah’s Preventive Detention Act (PDA) and the attendant challenges should offer valuable lessons for those who think this approach would serve their manipulative needs.