According to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, some international entities are involved in regime-change efforts in Africa to further their own selfish goals.
He explained, “Some foreign corporations see coups in Africa as a way to further their regional aspirations.”
“As such, they engage in all sorts of disinformation campaigns in a bid to disparage the authority of democratically elected authorities and instigate opposition protests against the incumbent.”
When Ghana’s president began a discussion on coups in Africa on Tuesday, March 15, he made these points clear.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo voiced concern over the resurgence of coups throughout Africa, and called for their denunciation and abolition.
“The reappearance of coups in Africa in all its forms and manifestations must be condemned by all since it seriously undermines our collective bid to rid the continent of the menace of instability and unconstitutional changes in government as currently defined by the frameworks enshrined in the Lome Declaration.”
West African leaders are concerned about recent coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and a failed coup in Guinea-Bissau.
Ghana’s leader, who is also the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, exhorted leaders to avoid coups during an emergency meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January.
He said, “The worsening political situation in our region should be of considerable concern to us all.”
“No country is insulated from the occurrence in the community and we have to take action to nip it in the bud.”
On Sunday, March 6, during the 65th Independence Anniversary celebration in Cape Coast, President Akufo-Addo issued a harsh warning to anyone considering a coup in Ghana.
“Let us guard jealously the peace and stability we are enjoying. There are some restless spirits amongst us who, seeking to exploit the current difficulties confronting the nation, claim to have lost confidence in our democratic system.
“Either the absence of faith in the prospect of democratic alternative to the current government or their impatience to wield executive authority are the factors driving their appetite for the short cut of military intervention.
“Whatever be the case, they seem ready to jeopardise the hard-won reputation of our country as beacon of democracy and stability in Africa and indeed, in the world, in order to gratify their personal ambition, ambitions which show little or no respect for the capacity of the Ghanaian people to change when necessary their government peacefully through the ballot box, something we have done on three separate occasions in the 29-year life of the Fourth Republic.
“The great majority of us who are committed to democratic values and institutions will continue to resist the claims of these adventurers and deploy all legitimate means in our democracy to maintain our free open system of governance which has respect for human rights, the rule of law and the principles of democratic accountability.”
