The Chief Executive Officer of the John Kufuor Foundation, Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has emphasized the need for Ghana’s democratic institutions to be strengthened in the wake of the recent uprising in Guinea.
Prof. Agyeman Duah argued that the recent Afrobarmeter surveys conducted by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) have shown that Ghanaians’ support for democracy is gradually waning.
He said this situation highlights the need for Ghanaian leaders to restore confidence in the country’s democracy.
“I think it dangerous to think we are different. We cannot be complacent… We should never let our guards down, we have to continually strengthen our institutions of democracy”.
“If you look at Afrobarometer surveys, it is clear that in recent times, Ghanaians’ support for democracy has fallen. That is an indication that even here, people have serious issues with democracy because it is not delivering the way we thought it would so that challenges our political leaders to bring confidence back to our democratic processes. “
Two successful coups in Mali, and one attempt in Niger has heightened concerns of a political crisis and the threats of extremist elements in most West African countries
Prof. Agyeman-Duah expressed concerns that the sub-region could return to the “terrible years for Africa” where most countries in the sub-region were ruled by military regimes.
To prevent a recurrence of such a situation, Prof. Agyeman-Duah suggested that “emerging coups should be of greater concern” to Ghanaians.
Guinea President Alpha Condé was ousted by the military on Sunday.
Mr. Condé had overseen a constitutional change that allowed him to successfully run for a controversial third term in 2019.
The coup in Guinea was the fourth attempted coup in West Africa in the last year with two military takeovers in Mali and a failed coup in Niger.
The African Union and ECOWAS have condemned the coup and called for a return to civilian rule as they do always when such events happen.
Source: Marian Ansah
