Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has cautioned President Akufo-Addo to fear empty stomachs and not loaded guns.

He revealed that the President should not be begging soldiers, while dismissing the legitimate demands of suffering Ghanaians with what he described as “utter contempt”.

Mr Ablakwa stated that throughout history, leaders who make the “fatal mistake of fearing guns” instead of the people have deeply regretted. He noted that the guns were silent but people with power toppled bad leaders, citing the Arab Spring and much recently, the protest in Sri Lanka which saw the exit of their Prime Minister and President.

“When the people are hungry and angry, it is most unwise to contemptuously ignore them and go begging soldiers. In any case, Ghanaian soldiers don’t live in a different economy, they are experiencing the same excruciating hardship and hopelessness we are all confronted with. It is trite — what soldiers all over the world hate, is to be asked to march loyally on hungry stomachs… President Akufo-Addo should fear empty stomachs, not loaded guns.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

Reacting to a statement by the President during his Ashanti Region tour where he urged military personnel to be excellent patriots, ambassadors of the security agencies and excellent citizens of the country, Mr Ablakwa recounted that in Sudan, eight months of angry demonstrations led by disillusioned young people from 2018 eventually resulted in the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir on April 11, 2019 after 30 brutal years in power.

With this, he stated that soldiers cannot protect any government, but only “government’s own humane policies” and responsible conduct can guarantee its protection.

“This is why it is absolutely imperative that President Akufo-Addo regains consciousness from his comatose and implement urgent remedial measures to rescue suffocating Ghanaians. The pain and suffering under this unprecedented collapsed economy is visceral and tangible.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

President advised to prioritise economy

The North Tongu legislator entreated President Akufo-Addo to “fire his Finance Minister now”. He stated that the “clueless” Economic Management Team ought to be “disbanded with dispatch”.

“… Corruption and profligacy should be uprooted; embark on ruthless retrievals of all stolen taxpayer funds; cancellation of reckless prestige projects; his bloated government including the disgraceful position of CEO for a non-existent Keta Port must be drastically pruned, the countless retirees on contract should go home and catch a well-deserved rest; and as we have often demanded..”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

Mr Ablakwa highlighted that it is time for the government to convene a non-partisan “economic rescue forum to harvest fresh” ideas. To achieve this, he expressed that if the President cannot pursue “these as outlined, he should simply resign” without further delay.

“President Akufo-Addo must understand in very clear terms that we all cherish our democratic gains and do not wish for or seek a derailment. However, at this point, his abysmal, inept, insensitive, incompetent and visionless leadership represents the greatest threat to Ghana’s democratic stability.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa