The Gold Coast Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society (ARPS) was formed in 1897 in the port city of Cape Coast, a hub of intellectual and political activism in colonial Ghana. The ARPS remained the voice of colonized Africans until its demise in the 1930s. The idea of forming the society had been incubated as early as 1895, but was shelved until May 17, 1897, when a meeting organized by the African intelligentsia in Cape Coast to protest the proposed Lands Bill of 1894 to 1897 culminated in the formation of the society.

Thus, the main catalyst for the formation of the ARPS was the African intelligentsia’s protest against the Lands Bill. Had the Lands Bill been passed, it would have allowed the colonial government to take over so-called waste or public lands. Aborigines' Rights Protection Society became the main political organization that led organized and sustained opposition against the Colonial Government, laying the foundation for political action that would ultimately lead to Ghanaian independence. J. W. Sey, J. P. Brown, J. E. Casely Hayford and John Mensah Sarbah were co-founders of ARPS.

Fast forward to 1st July 2014, the Ghanaian political landscape was jolted by a new type of public protest - a campaign organized online (mostly through Twitter and Facebook) that got many Ghanaians to march to the Flagstaff House to present a petition to the president. This was the first of its kind, an elitist, middle class demonstration who were tired of the status quo of venting their frustrations out on social media but decided to take it to the streets for the government to take their plea seriously. The protest, which came to be known as #OccupyFlagstaffHouse (the hash tag shows the importance of social media in organising the protest) and now #OccupyGhana gained much attention for five major reasons.

The novel use of modern media like facebook and twitter in organizing it, the participation of the more affluent parts of society, the vicious non-partisanship of the protesters, the fuel shortages that occurred prior to the demonstration and the relative obscurity of the organisers of the protest, the Concerned Ghanaians for Responsible Governance (CGRG). This was bound to happen since for years lots of experts and political commentators predicted that one day the emerging middle class of Ghana will rise and when the do, there will be a new form of progressive revolution just like that of the arab spring.

The big six made lots of sacrifices to attain independence for the then Gold Coast. People like J.B Danquah died in chains in prison after Dr Nkrumah passed the Preventive Detention Act of 1958 to safeguard not only his person but the country at large, others like Dr Abrefa Busia also died whilst exile. Is the Occupy Ghana movement ready to make the ultimate sacrifice ?

Are Ghanaians tired of the “buga buga” politicians and quack visionaries who simply go through University of Ghana Legon and KNUST politics and after a few years of propaganda ground work and foot soldier politics  find their way to public offices to loot tax payers money and as well act as if the public owes them service instead of the other way round. Winning power for this middle class would not be an easy task but it will take probably 21 – 30 years for the movement to gain enough seats in parliament to become politically relevant in the Ghanaian political locus.

It took the New Patriotic Party about the same time from the Danquah – Busia – Dombo tradition's John Agyekum Kufuor to win the 2000 Ghanaian election. The movement should be ready to commit to their ideals to make their dream of a better Ghana work. Jabbing and lambasting whiles sitting on the fence wont necessarily bring the change we all want to see but instead being a part of the political process or decision making process will contribute to the Ghana we want our kids to live in.

Constitutional rights like freedom of association and demonstration have been two major tools employed by Occupy Ghana Movement but we need more to win the minds and hearts of the ordinary Ghanaian to change the current political tide. They have threatened to drag the Attorney-General and Auditor-General to court if they fail to retrieve monies wrongfully paid to certain individuals under dubious circumstances like GYEEDA & SADA. This together with their fora and debates are very healthy to the Ghanaian democratic system. 

When you look at the academic qualifications of the leaders Ghana has had including most of the military rulers after independence until the late 70's you would realize that majority of them were academically qualified with Doctorate degrees, writers, philosophers and visionaries  et al This is not to say only learned people can rule but to point out that most of our leaders then understood the fundamentals of leadership and rarely made the attempt to use political office as a role to enrich themselves , families or tribe. We are this point should be tired of blaming the older generation for our woes now. What we usually sing is that “They had independence and a hope (“ The black man is capable of handling his own affairs – Dr Kwame Nkrumah )  but took it all for granted “.

Rome was not built in one day and we try to replicate democracy practiced in developed nations like USA and Europe. We will fail woefully if we try to do so.  USA had their independence about 238 years ago and we are now 57 years in and that shouldn’t be reason why we get it wrong but we should know it will take time but with good leadership and following we will get it to a niche we want it to be.

Governing a country is not an easy task at all levels right from the assembly man straight up to the president. One would say leadership is not by force.  People who qualify to occupy such offices need to be competent and as well should have a proven track record of good managerial skills in terms of leading a team or running a successful business. To name a few people who will fit this kind of profile will be Patrick Awuah of Ashesi University , Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom of Nduom group of companies , Rtd. Capt Prine Kofi Amoabeng etc but we live in times that the people of Ghana do not have any choice besides the NDC and NPP.

The bane of the Occupy Ghana Movement now is that they seem to lambast anything or anyone who is close to the presidency. My suggestion to them is they should turn this movement into a political party for me to vote for them or they should lay the precedence for the next generation to usher them into power.

I am now suggesting to the Occupy Ghana Movement to form a political party and be ready to invest the next 20 – 60 years to educating the minds of young Ghanaians, floating voters to buy into their ideology of accountability, positive governance , good leadership and social justice. The first step I will propose is to get as many as 100 progressive thinkers made up of the rising middle class (eg. Doctors , Lawyers , Social Entrepreneurs , visionaries)  to take up parliamentary seats in our parliament to help with decision making and policy formulation.

After a span of 15 years, Occupy Ghana Party can introduce a flag bearer for presidency. At that point Ghanaians would have realized the essence of their political movement based on the work of their Members of Parliament. Majority of Ghanaians would have been also tired of the mediocre style of leadership they have endured for many years.

Most of our patriotic heroes like Dr Kwame Nkrumah , Dr J.B Danquah , Dr Busia that we all idolize stood their guns , made a lot of sacrifices to get Ghana to where we are now so its time for you to take on the mantle to continue with their dream of a working Ghana. The late Komla Dumor once said that it is a waiting game , it may not come today or tomorrow or even the decade you expect it in but you have to be prepared so as to when it comes you will know what to do with it.

Keep up the good work of naming and shaming corrupt officials , proposing better solutions and policies to help make Ghana a better nation. Turn the movement into a political party and we will rally behind you until Ghana works.