In the brief era of the people’s revolution, following the second seizure of power by Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings on December 31, 1981, it became standard practice for people to be summoned to Accra by radio. The call that went out early one morning in July 1982 caused some urgent concern on the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) campus in Kumasi. All the deans of faculties and heads of research institutes were to travel to Accra the next day to meet with the revolutionary leader. Coming at a time when all intellectuals, professionals and managers had been designated ‘enemies of the people’, and when it was not even certain that fuel would be found for transport to Accra, the summons was viewed with some apprehension by those involved.
This was a time when most vehicles would spend hours in long lines at gas stations only to be rewarded when fuel with a gallon allowance arrived. A return trip to Accra would need about ten gallons, and everyone expected it to be a return trip. Most of the university’s vehicles were immobilized, and the deans doubted they could answer the call and were afraid if they didn’t. The Technology Consulting Center (TCC), however, kept its own large stock of diesel fuel in its campus workshop and the principal offered a lift to all colleagues who weren’t too proud to ride in the back of a Land Rover. The offer was oversubscribed, and to make room for one more passenger, the director elected to take over the driving. The next morning, after a four hour journey, the KNUST group arrived on time at the National Conference Center in Accra.
The Kumasi scholars were greeted on arrival by their peers from the University of Ghana and the University of Cape Coast, as well as heads of various Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) institutions; so it was a relatively large assembly that was waiting for the leader of the revolution. They were in for a long wait.
After some time the meeting became restless and one officer asked for patience; the leader was very busy but he would be coming there shortly. Asked why they had been summoned at such short notice, the official said it was to discuss the policy of scientific and industrial development under the revolution. The meeting decided to take advantage of the waiting time to prepare a statement of policy recommendations. The deliberations were interrupted when it was announced that the leader was about to arrive and that everyone should go out to meet him when he arrived.
The National Conference Center is located away from the main road and surrounded by extensive gardens. After another delay, the welcome party began when a helicopter landed on the grass in front of them and a group of men in military uniform quickly ran from the plane towards the main building. It was then that one of the new arrivals was recognized as the young flight lieutenant. The manner of his arrival suggested that the rumors of counter-coups and assassination attempts were more than rumors.
Everyone returned to the room and Rawlings stood at the podium. Then followed a long, garbled speech, interrupted several times by the creaking of a military handheld radio, causing the speaker to duck behind the podium for an urgent conversation with his distant interlocutor. With a mind that was clearly occupied with other things, the leader harangued his captive audience with an almost incomprehensible speech in which he frequently changed the subject in mid-sentence.
After a late lunch in which the teachers tried to explain to each other what had been the central message of the monologue, the military team left exactly the reverse of their arrival. Although he had wasted a long day and there was still a four-hour drive back to Kumasi, a general sense of relief washed over the Kumasi party. Even in revolutionary times, life must go on, and the enemies of the revolution were free to return to their normal duties.
