Mussa Dankwah, Executive Director of Global InfoAnalytics, has expressed serious concerns about the outgoing NPP government’s surveillance practices, particularly when such measures target academics and professionals who are perceived as critics of the government.
He emphasized that when a government resorts to snooping on its citizens, especially those in intellectual and professional circles, it signals a troubling decline in democratic values and freedoms.
According to Dankwah, such actions undermine trust in public institutions and reflect a broader erosion of civil liberties, suggesting that the state has strayed from its fundamental duty to protect and uphold the rights of its people.
“It reminds me of what we learnt about the Stasi in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin wall and CEAUSESCU’S Securitate forces communist Romania.
“We need to know why so many Ghanaians were being spied on using Israeli Pegasus technology and what was the role of the state in muscling the voices of the people on social media”.
Mussa Dankwah
Dankwah further elaborated that while it is both necessary and justifiable for the state to engage in surveillance of criminals to prevent and combat crime, extending such practices to academics and professionals is deeply problematic.
He emphasized that these individuals play a crucial role in a healthy democracy by offering constructive criticism and highlighting areas where the government may be faltering.
Dankwah emphasized that spying on those who are merely attempting to point out administrative shortcomings stifles open dialogue and discourages intellectual discourse.
According to him, this ultimately weakens democratic governance by silencing voices that are essential for accountability and reform.
Accordingly, Dankwah strongly urged the need to rein in the excessive snooping powers of national security agencies through comprehensive reforms.
He emphasized that unchecked surveillance capabilities pose a significant threat to civil liberties and democratic accountability. Dankwah also called on political leaders, particularly those transitioning into opposition, to support this crucial reform.
He warned that as they move out of power, they too could become targets of the very surveillance apparatus they once controlled.
Dankwah underscored the importance of establishing safeguards that protect all citizens, regardless of their political affiliation, from unwarranted intrusion and abuse of power. “Democracy does not strive by snooping on critics”.
Dankwah Criticizes NPP for Misinterpreting Polls
Furthermore, Mussa Dankwah criticized the NPP for suppressing dissenting opinions and dismissing poll results in favor of interpretations aligned with party loyalists and sympathetic media outlets.
He clarified that while 54% of Ghanaians expressed a preference for Alan to lead the NPP, it is important to recognize that the general public does not choose the party’s flagbearer—this decision is made internally during the primaries.
Dankwah noted that, however, the broader public will have their say in the subsequent general elections.
“I have just watched the full video of Paul [Adom-Okyere] Adom-otchere berating me on a number of points on his Good Evening Ghana Official. Paul suggested that they were taught that when you do a poll and there is more than 10% undecided, you don’t publish it. Which lecturers misled Paul and his classmates?
“Again, not just Paul, a lot of the media after reading a poll which suggests DMB was leading in the primaries with 43% and further 18% undecided, meant the pollster was predicting a runoff. They were indeed misled and miseducated”.
Mussa Dankwah
Dankwah also voiced concern over the lack of education on polling methods in political science courses at universities.
He observed that this gap in knowledge might explain why the NPP and their supporters were entirely convinced that polls conducted by Global InfoAnalytics were fabricated.
He noted that their belief seemed rooted in the perception that Paul Adom-Okyere was the ultimate authority in political science and political research, leading them to dismiss other credible sources. “We have truly miseducated many people and I see Paul as a victim of our educational system”.
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