The re-emerging pattern of coups d’état against democratic rule hitting Africa in the past years has weakens the security system in West Africa, giving way for terrorist attacks on the people, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister of Information, has said.
This, according to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ofoase Ayirebi, had compelled the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) to immediately put measures in place to end the ongoing military rule in Niger.
He said the decision of ECOWAS to use military intervention to end the coup in Niger came after several attempts to have it resolved amicably with diplomacy had proved futile.
“Leaders, including the President of Benin, Patrice Talon, President of Chad, Mahamat Iddriss Deby, the Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinibu, the former President of Nigeria, Abdulsalami Abubakari, and the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’adu Abubakar III, has all been allowed to meet and dialogue with the military in Niger, but yielded a fruitless results,” he added.
The MP, who spoke on Adom TV’s Badwam programme on Monday, this week, explained that, as part of ECOWAS measures put in place in resolving issues, once the diplomacy attempt was ignored, a military intervention could be the next line of action.
“ECOWAS wants diplomacy to succeed within a certain frame, if not, the possible use of force is not off the table, as it is part of ECOWAS measures in resolving issues,” the MP explained.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah further stated that, ECOWAS had, over the past years, before the democratic dispensation in Ghana, mobilised an intervention to resolve similar issues between Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The same intervention was used in 2002, when the military attacked the then Cote d’Ivoire government during former President John Agyekum Kufuor’s era.
Former President John Dramani Mahama, during his term, supported ECOWAS with about 120 military men to fight against terrorism in Mali. “So using the same strategy this time will not be new,” he added.
In 2016, ECOWAS mobilised about 700 troops to The Gambia, when Yahya Jammeh refused to step down after losing an election. This action was supported by military personnel from Ghana and Senegal.
Responding to Ghana’s commitment in this intervention by ECOWAS, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah explained that, without missing the much-needed diplomacy conversations, causing apprehension in the process, “it has not gotten to the point where Ghana has to take a stand, this is why it has become necessary for social commentators to continue encouraging the military junta to heed ECOWAS’s diplomacy call,” he reiterated.
When asked whether the government had put measures in place to evacuate Ghanaian traders currently stuck in Niger, and also prevent others from trading there, the Minister explained that discussions were currently ongoing with regards to nationals in Niger, and at the right time, when conclusions are made, the general public would be addressed.
Clearing the public notion on why ECOWAS only come out to issue interventions when things get out of hands, but not when activities of some African leaders become questionable, the MP explained that, ECOWAS had taken some responsibilities on that part for allowing certain issues get out of hand in some countries.
However, in most cases, he said “the reason for the military junta in some African countries is an attempt to stop terrorism threat, the military feel cannot be managed by the civilian administration, yet the situation becomes worse once the military takeover,” citing Burkina Faso and Mali as examples, as the terrorist attacks has gotten out of hands in these countries, according to reports.
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