On the solemn occasion of the 46th anniversary of the June 4th Revolution, Augustus Goosie Obuadum Tanoh, a founding member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has issued a powerful call for deep introspection and structural reform within the NDC.
The seasoned politician, who doubles as the Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development’s statement, rich in historical reflection and revolutionary fervour, urged a comprehensive reset of the Party to ensure it remains anchored in its foundational values of justice, probity, and popular sovereignty.
“The NPP’s rejection was a warning to all who seek to lead. I commend @JDMahama for resetting the state. Now our Party must also reset, rooted in justice, probity, and the people.
“I cannot let this moment pass without expressing my solidarity and commitment to the cause we joined 46 years ago and making a few comments about what I see as our necessary future path.”
Augustus Goosie Obuadum Tanoh, Founding Member of NDC and Presidential Advisor for 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development
He noted that Ghana stands at a critical crossroads, requiring honest self-assessment and decisive transformation, especially within the NDC.
The landslide electoral defeat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 general elections, he argued, should not only serve as a repudiation of that party’s governance but also a cautionary tale for the NDC and all political actors who aspire to leadership.
“Arrogance, vanity of power, intolerance, elitism, corruption and the flagrant disrespect for the people’s interest in pursuit of private gain, and at the expense of the welfare of Ghanaians, was tellingly and fundamentally reprimanded by the Ghanaian electorate.”
Augustus Goosie Obuadum Tanoh, Founding Member of NDC and Presidential Advisor for 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development
Responsible Financing of Political Parties
According to Goosie Tanoh, the state must never be used as an instrument for financing political parties through bloated contracts, nor should it be misused for the narrow enrichment of elites.
Instead, he emphasised that the state must exist to uplift all citizens, especially the youth, through investments in job creation, education, and opportunity. Political parties, he added, must be financed transparently by members and well-wishers, not through covert access to public coffers.
In expressing his admiration for President Mahama’s leadership, Goosie Tanoh declared, “This is what President Mahama’s reset agenda entails – giving governance back to the people, for the people and by the people.”
However, he was quick to caution that a presidential reset alone is insufficient unless accompanied by a parallel transformation within the NDC itself.
Drawing parallels between Ghana’s contemporary political struggles and its revolutionary past, Goosie Tanoh invoked the example of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, whose vision of collective empowerment and pan-African unity continues to inspire.
But he also mourned the subversion of Nkrumah’s legacy following the 1966 coup, which ushered in an era of elite-driven exploitation and declining national solidarity.
“In the 15-year decline that followed, and under the intensified looting of our resources superintended by our political elites, we all but lost our sense of internal solidarity and the progressive, pan-African identity, and economic dynamism that had made Ghana a beacon to oppressed people the world over.”
Augustus Goosie Obuadum Tanoh, Founding Member of NDC and Presidential Advisor for 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development
Goosie Tanoh chronicled how successive regimes replaced merit with mediocrity and national interest with sectarian privilege. “Merit, competence and capacity were thrown out of the window,” he lamented, “in favour of subjective, often irrational criteria.” This trend, he argued, catalysed the very conditions that led to the June 4th uprising in 1979.
Significance of June 4th Revolution
Recalling the revolution itself, Goosie Tanoh described June 4 not merely as a mutiny but as a transformative moment in Ghana’s political evolution — a reawakening of ordinary citizens demanding radical accountability.
He contended that the June 4th revolution was a rejection of the Ghanaian elite and a demand for radical and even sometimes deadly accountability by the young and the marginalised.
“It was the chickens coming home to roost. Indeed, it was an inferno that threatened to engulf everything.
“In that moment, and in many other moments over the following years, it was the strength of the (then) young men led by Flt Lt Rawlings who dared to provide the leadership that ensured we did not tip into the abyss of generalised violence or civil war, as so many other exploited and oppressed West African countries did in the 80s and 90s.”
Augustus Goosie Obuadum Tanoh, Founding Member of NDC and Presidential Advisor for 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development
But Goosie Tanoh warned that the revolutionary legacy is not a badge of entitlement for the NDC. Instead, it is a “sacred charge” to uphold high standards of governance.
He stressed that power belongs to the people and that leaders, no matter how secure they may feel, remain accountable to the masses. “The people will tolerate only so much and no more,” he cautioned. “It is always difficult to tell when the breaking point has been reached from inside the power bubble.”
Lessons from the Sahel Region
In the same breath, he drew lessons from recent events in the Sahel, where public anger against exploitation and bad governance has upended seemingly entrenched regimes.
He opined that neither the might of imperial powers nor the arms of the most sophisticated and potent military power on earth can withstand the force of a people united against oppression and injustice, reinforcing the need for vigilance, humility, and responsiveness.
Goosie Tanoh’s call for a radical reset was not rhetorical. He laid out a concrete path, charging the NDC to rebuild its grassroots structures and decentralise power. “We have largely become an electoral machine with power concentrated at the top,” he observed.
He lamented the decline of branches — the very foundation of the party, which now function only during election seasons rather than as year-round community-focused entities.
Calls for Reforms
To rectify this, he proposed the training of a new cadre of activists to breathe life back into the branches and reconnect the Party to the everyday struggles of Ghanaians.
He went further to advocate for a national ideological and constitutional reset convention within 18 months, preceded by a broad internal consultation that starts at the grassroots.
“The Party must also take the opportunity to reset now,” he urged, adding this is essential not only for internal reform but also to prepare the NDC to lead Ghana into a new era of just, people-centred governance.
Goosie Tanoh concluded with a powerful tribute to the late Jerry John Rawlings and other revolutionary heroes, urging his comrades to remember the sacrifices that brought the NDC into being.
“Let us, in this moment, recall Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings and all of our fallen heroes whose heroic example and efforts inspire us to greater acts of sacrifice and service to our communities, our beloved Ghana and to Africa.”
Augustus Goosie Obuadum Tanoh, Founding Member of NDC and Presidential Advisor for 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development
Goosie Tanoh’s June 4 reflection is essentially more than just a message of remembrance. It is a manifesto for the NDC’s structural and moral renewal.
It is a passionate call to embrace a transformative future — one that can genuinely turn the NDC into more than just a political vehicle, but a leader of national renewal — and to return to the principles that once distinguished the Party.
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