In the wake of the numerous coups erupting in some African countries, a Ghanaian cleric and social commentator, Rev. Charles Owusu, has revealed why he thinks a similar template could be replicated in Ghana.
While discussing the issue juxtaposed with the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Super Delegates Congress held recently, Rev. Charles Owusu revealed that some security men made up of the police and military were stationed at the seat of government, the Jubilee House, and were ill-treated.
In furtherance of this, he mentioned that about 73 soldiers have indignantly left the Jubilee House and returned to the barracks and this could potentially become the catalyst to spur on a coup. He cited instances when ministers and other politicians who have these men in uniform as security apparatus treat them like nonentities.
Rev. Charles Owusu, while in the studios of Peace FM, said that given the discontentment that unanimously tied the soldiers’ emotions and the vast abject poverty plaguing the masses, coups have become a safe haven within this context. He hinted that if care is not taken based on the aforementioned, Ghana could be the next country to experience a coup.
Gabon Coup
According to a BBC report, a group of army officers in Gabon made a public announcement on national television, declaring that they had taken control of the government. They stated that they were nullifying the results of the recent presidential election, which declared Ali Bongo the winner.
The opposition had accused the election of being fraudulent. The overthrow of Bongo would end his family’s 53-year reign in Gabon. Gabon is a significant oil producer in Africa, and its land is mostly covered by forests. It recently joined the Commonwealth in June 2022, becoming one of the few members that was not a British colony.
The announcement was made by twelve soldiers on Wednesday morning, who also declared the dissolution of all the institutions of the republic. They further stated that the country’s borders have been closed until further notice. If confirmed, this would be the eighth coup in former French colonies in Africa in the past three years.
However, most of the others have been in the Sahel region, where an Islamist insurgency has led to rising complaints that democratically elected governments are failing to protect civilian populations. The French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, stated that her country is closely monitoring the situation, while the European Union’s foreign policy chief warned that a military takeover would increase instability in Africa.
