SILENCE WAS OUR “NATIONAL ANTHEM”.
Dear Nyaaba,
When John Dramani Mahama walked up the dais on the 7th of January 2025, it appears he not only took an oath of office but also handed back to Ghanaians, those noble rights that are so audaciously enshrined in our Constitution.
That is not to say someone or some people expropriated Ghanaians of said rights, not at all. What is true however is that whether for good or otherwise, whether from real or perceived censorship, Ghanaians decided to be quiet throughout the tenure of the last government, and that is what I take issue with.
Nyaaba, in a democracy, the greatest betrayal is not committed by corrupt leaders, but by silent citizens. For eight years, Ghana witnessed a slow unraveling, economic hardship, corruption, institutional decay, and a deepening sense of hopelessness among the youth. Yet, the most disturbing trend was not the failures of leadership; it was the passive acquiescence of the very people who suffered the most. Silence was our national anthem, and if justice were truly blind, acquiescence should be a crime.
Let us face an uncomfortable truth: our democracy was not stolen from us, we handed it away. We watched as public funds disappeared into the abyss of unaccountable governance. We grumbled in our homes but never on the streets. We let hospitals remain underfunded, roads turn into death traps, and schools struggle with inadequate resources while politicians lived in obscene luxury. Yet, where was the outrage?
Over the past eight years, we saw policies that prioritized personal gain over national welfare. From reckless borrowing that shackled generations yet unborn to sweetheart deals that left Ghanaians footing the bill for the greed of a few, the writing was always on the wall. But who among us read it aloud? Where was the national resistance? A few lone voices spoke, but they were drowned by the complacency of the many. The betrayal of Ghana was not only by those in power but by the ordinary citizens who accepted it as the norm.
We mastered the art of complaining without action. Our political discourse was reduced to social media rants and armchair analysis, but when the time came to stand up, to demand better, to reject mediocrity, to say “enough!” we suddenly had more important things to do. The citizenry, which should have been the spine of democracy, was instead its Achilles’ heel.
We cannot afford another eight years of watching and whining. Ghana’s future is not in the hands of politicians; it is in the hands of those who choose to either resist or resign. Our silence was complicity. Our inaction was endorsement. If democracy is to mean anything in Ghana, then acquiescence must no longer be an option. We must make our voices count, not just at the ballot box, but in every space where power is held to account. Otherwise, we will find ourselves, once again, lamenting the state of the nation, only to realize that we were the ones who let it happen.
Acquiescence should be a crime. But until the law catches up, let our conscience be the jury.
And let us be decorous and responsible with our “reinstated” rights.
The Honourrebel Siriguboy
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