The Military, My Life 43 Years -5 Months -25 Days

Recently, I was conducting research for a lecture at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) when I discovered that Ghana and Sierra Leone were the champions of the league of coups d’état in West Africa.

Both chalked up 10 attempts with five successes. Before stumbling upon this fact, I had assumed that Big Brother Nigeria would be head of the host. 

However, our Nigerian cousins have only managed eight attempts, albeit with more efficiency in the success stakes: they have succeeded six times out of eight attempts. 

In fact, on the continent of Africa, the most coup-prone country is Sudan with 17 attempts and six successes. Currently, Sudan is in another cycle of violence, and political analysts are still assessing whether this current outbreak is an uprising, a coup, a civil war or a combination of the three.

In spite of the return of military coups to the West African sub-region in recent times, the book under review, The Military, My life 43 years-5 months-25 days is not about coups; it is the life story of Brigadier General Daniel Kwadjo Frimpong. This is a soldier who could be described figuratively and literally as both a barracks brat and a ‘born-soldier’. 

He was born in Burma Camp, the son of a soldier, schooled in Burma Camp and other military barracks schools, joined the Army after Mfantsipim School at 17 and spent the next 43+ years soldiering. 

History

Brig. Gen Frimpong takes us back into history and refreshes our memory about secondary school days in the late 60s. Those of us who are 60+ can easily reconnect with the tenor of life in Mfantsipim School (‘Kwabotwe’), the first boys secondary school in Ghana. 

For the younger ones who did not experience the ‘0’ level and ‘A’ level secondary school system, Brig. Gen Frimpong provides them with a historical insight into the life a secondary school boy in the 60s.

Though this book essentially chronicles the trials and tribulations of Brig. Gen. Dan Frimpong in his 43+ military career, it is an important addition to the collection of books that give us an insight into the turbulent period in the history of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) (1975 – 1985), when soldiers lived day-to-day. 

Fathers and husbands left for work and never returned home. Some lost their lives during the various coup attempts and others fled across the borders into exile without a word to their families.  This tumultuous period in the history of the GAF is adequately catalogued in the pages of the book.

As we follow the life and career of Brig. Gen Frimpong, we uncover a whole new world of life in the GAF. Having been commissioned in 1973, Brig. Gen, Frimpong’s military service began in a very auspicious period. The book invariably provides information about some of the major historical events of the 70s and 80s. 

It gives us a personal experience of the dramatic, and often tragic events of the 1979 – 1982 period when attempted coups, coups and counter-coups were the order of the day. 

The twists and turns in the fast-changing events of the period are vividly described and the roll call of memorable military officers, some of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice, are distinctly described.

Highs, lows

The highs and lows of Brig. Gen. Frimpong’s career receive special attention in the book, especially his run-ins with the Military High Command as he doggedly struggled to pursue his academic dreams. The obstacles he surmounted on his way to the acquisition of knowledge and higher education in the 80s and 90s are in sharp contrast to conditions in the GAF today. 

The GAF today is a very pro-knowledge institution, with several officers acquiring PhDs with the active support of senior commanders who are themselves very highly educated officers.

Though the book advertises itself as an autobiography, it sheds light on the GAF as an institution and demonstrates that the GAF provides opportunities for a fulfilling and thoroughly fascinating life. 

The book documents aspects of military life that are not easily discernible to outsiders. The author documents his experiences during various peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions from the Sinai to South Lebanon and on to Cambodia. 

It describes the life of a military officer as a diplomat at the United Nations and also as a peace envoy in the jungles of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We are given rare insights into the behind-the-scenes permutations, and sometimes innocuous and seemingly unimportant developments that affect the direction of an officer’s career. 

We are also introduced to some of the challenges confronting military commanders at various levels, and the imaginative and forthright leadership required to ensure that professionalism of the GAF triumphs at the end of the day.

Autobiography 

The Military, My Life 43 Years-5 Months-25 Days may have been conceived as the autobiography of Brig. Gen. Daniel Kwadjo Frimpong; however, it inadvertently succeeds in giving the reader a 360-degree picture of the Ghana Armed Forces as a very human institution, with men and women who have volunteered to serve their country at the peril of their lives. 

It showcases the domestic life of an officer, recruitment procedures and the stringent training regime of the GAF, career impediments and progression, command opportunities and challenges, retirement and the after-life, and the GAF’s centrality to the stability and security of our country. 

The book is a treasure trove of information for students of the history of the GAF and will aid researchers who are still trying to gather personal stories and anecdotes to fill some of the gaps in the happenings of the turbulent decade (1975-1985), which have shaped the Ghana of today.