In March 2023, reports to my desk indicated that the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, engaged the Ho-based Clergies and Mediators’ Consult (CMC) to assist them in mediating a peaceful separation of British/Western Togoland from Ghana.
This was in response to the CMC petition regarding their perceived mistreatment of the Western Togoland Freedom Fighters in its detention and denials for granting them bails.
The government allegedly realized the efforts of indigenes to separate from Ghana was a right call, but had difficulty finding the right mediator. The task was allegedly given to the late Mr. Kɔmi Kudzɔdzi(aka Papavi Hogbedetɔ) but he had been unable to do so before his demise.
This desk had it that upon realizing that the Most Rev. Ledo, a retired Moderator of the E.P. Church of Ghana, was the Chairman of CMC, the Hon. Kan Dapaah, the National Security Coordinator who hosted them on behalf of the Government of Ghana on March 13, 2023, was pleased with his record of peacefully handling the E.P. Church split.
Their tasks, according to the report on my desk, involves uniting the many groups advocating for Western Togoland (WTL) independence, and collecting evidence from the Chiefs and Key Opinion Leaders(KOL) for WTL separation.
Government will then call their representatives to meet its representatives for round table discussions leading to the peaceful separation.
However, according to my sources, the assignment had stalled primarily for lack of evidence from the Government to back the assignment given to the CMC. The Government through its courts has been handing severe sentences to those engaged in the freedom fighting, yet expect the Chiefs and the KOL to believe they were sincere with the engagement of the CMC, without evidence.
It’s like giving a dead bird to the CMC to revive! While the CMC has succeeded in bringing 8 out of 10 identifiable freedom fighting groups under one umbrella, getting collaboration from the Chiefs and KOL has proven the rate limiting step for moving forward to the negotiation table.
Meanwhile this would have provided a very peaceful avenue for the New Patriotic Party to easily break the 8 WITHOUT “VOTE RIGGING OR ELECTION VIOLENCE,” since WTL is the voter bank for its formidable opposition.
And listening to the pent up anger and frustration from a few individuals who dare to make their voices heard from the silent majority, a lot of mayhem can be expected during the campaign stages this year once the freedom fighters sincerely believe the Akufo-Addo government is not sincere about their separation mediation engagements.
We all know what happens when freedom fighters feel their backs are pinned to the wall by their oppressors/colonizers. We saw it during the struggle for the Gold Coast independence, the African National Congress struggle in South Africa, and the ongoing Biafra, Southern Cameroonian and Palestinian struggles.
Why should Ghana wait for that to happen to her? If we care to learn from past independence struggles, after all the bloodsheds and massive economic destruction, the parties eventually ended up on the negotiation table. So why not now? “Had I known,” they say, always comes too late.
The freedom fighters had given enough veiled threats to the Ghana government if they care to take note. When a blind man says he will stone you, mind you, he may have the stone under his foot.
Bobby Quaquoo is an under cover freelance journalist.