Member of parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has urged the ECOWAS to put an end to the warmongering in its reaction to the coup in Niger and give diplomacy and constructive dialogue a chance to resolve the political impasse.
According to him, the incessant threats by ECOWAS to Niger will not yield the expected results but will create an even worse situation for the continent. Owing to this, he revealed that the ECOWAS community must deploy other means of resolving the crisis in the francophone country.
“ECOWAS leaders ought to stop the warmongering and give diplomacy and constructive dialogue a chance. The Niger crisis can be resolved without violence and bloodshed.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Furthermore, Mr Ablakwa iterated the minority’s demand on President Akufo-Addo to immediately stop all his preparatory mobilization towards deploying Ghanaian soldiers for an ECOWAS military intervention in Niger. He indicated that President Akufo-Addo’s refusal to submit his Niger Policy to Parliament for thorough scrutiny by the people’s elected representatives is most “undemocratic and awfully reckless”.
“West African leaders who purport to be lecturing Niger on democracy must be seen leading by example at home.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Addressing coup related matter in West Africa
The North Tongu legislator contended that Ghana’s gallant soldiers must be kept far away from the looming bloodbath and escalating geopolitical confrontation which is bound to explode with far reaching consequences for stability in an already volatile region.
Also worthy of consideration, he noted, is the fact that Ghana’s bankrupt economy could be used as a predictable excuse by President Akufo-Addo as Commander-in-Chief to deny the Ghana Armed Forces the full complement of materiel, equipment and logistics.
Citing a better alternative and means of redress on the coup situation in Niger, Mr Ablakwa explained that more fundamentally, African leaders must reflect on the causes of these coups and begin to take urgent concrete steps to prevent more military takeovers. He highlighted that six coups in 3 years can only mean that Africa appears to be making a return to the coup era of the 1960s to 1980s.
“Let’s shift focus from the symptoms and start addressing the real issues of bad leadership, corruption, endemic poverty, democracy that works only for a few cronies and fat cats, massive unemployment, lack of opportunity, state-capture, constitutional manipulation, compromised judiciaries, discredited institutions, neo-colonial exploitation and a disunited Africa.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Mr Ablakwa further emphasized that Niger is not the first and it may not be the last without an “honest, appropriate, introspective, causative”, leadership response.
Prior to this, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), condemned the regional bloc’s decision which has already been described as hasty and reckless.
The party in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, revealed that the “NDC does not support committing our gallant Ghanaian soldiers to any hasty ill-considered adventure”.
Instead, the party admonished that the regional bloc must approach the situation diplomatically for an amicable solution. It also urged that the coup makers to embrace negotiations for a peaceful resolution of the matter.
The NDC noted that it is of the firm conviction that constructive dialogue and tactful diplomacy must be pursued further. The unfolding situation in Niger, it indicated, requires cool heads, strategic rapprochement and a diplomatic approach which places the wishes of the people of Niger at the center of an amicable resolution.
Moreover, it highlighted that African people seem to have grown impatient about delays in the democratic dividend. As a consequent, he noted that bad governance, corruption, unemployment, state capture, neo-colonial entanglements, constitutional mutilation, and insensitive policies have become prevalent.
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