Neho!
This is a little long, so maybe wait and read it in Church, when the pastor asks for the 3rd offertory.
I know our domestic media is more interested in Ukraine-Russia coverage, so many of us are less informed about the issues that are closer to us in our sub-region and which ought to concern us more.
But let’s bring our interests home.
Yesterday, the ECOWAS heads of State meeting in Accra asked Mali to hold fresh elections and hand over to a civilian Government by April 25th, instead of the 5-year transition time agreed by Malian Stakeholders and for which 2 milllion Malians came to the Streets in support of.
The request by the Heads of State, does not take into account the terrorist threats to the Malian state and active ongoing conflicts which will make it even impossible for elections to be held in several parts of Mali. But the French want Assimi Goita out of power so that their forces can return to protect French Commercial interests; so ECOWAS is committed to advancing France over what the Malians themselves have agreed to do.
Prior to the Meeting, West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) ordered the suspension of the sanctions imposed on Mali which are intended to further impoverish malian citizens and deny them access to basic food and medicine.
Yet, the Heads of State have refused to lift the sanctions. How can a gathering which refuses to follow law, ask another to do something?
Many years ago, Ghanaians could take to the streets to protest the refusal of the Portuguese to leave Mozambique and Angola. Ghanaians also massively demonstrated against the South African Regime; and compelled Nkrumah to take a more stronger position on the issue. Nkrumah was the strongest voice on the Congo in Africa. A “Congo Co-ordinating Committee” was established by Nkrumah to co-ordinate Ghana’s various efforts in the Congo. And he sent two separate missions to inform the Belgian authorities that “my government’s desire is that progress to independence in the Congo should be orderly and peaceful and that the Ghana government was willing to do everything in its power to assist.” Nothing happened at the UN regarding the Congo, without Ghana being involved.
In 1959, Patrice Lumumba approached Nkrumah to seek advice on whether Congo should become a unitary State or a Federal one, in these terms “May I please ask the Prime Minister [Nkrumah] to give me the necessary guide in respect of the plan to follow in our struggle? His experience means a lot to us. . . . ” Nkrumah prescribed a strong unitary system of government for the country; and went on to attack any proposals to “Balkanize” the Congo.
Today, Most Ghanaians won’t be able to tell if Côte d’Ivoire is the one on the West, or the East; or whether that’s Togo.
How I wish our educational system wasn’t impoverishing our knowledge of the world around us; and it’s Geopolitics.
ECOWAS is in town, my dream would have been to get 20,000 Ghanaians (out of 30 million) to protest against that moribond institution. But even to get 2000 people to protest against the Lilliputian and his whack governance that is killing is, is a struggle.
Give me the Ghana of Old or build me a new one!
Ɛnkɔsi da bɛn?
By Osagyefo Oliver Barker-Vormawor