A two-day poll conducted by Global InfoAnalytics on August 18 and 19, approximately indicates that 52% of the Ghanaian population opposes Ghana’s participation in a military intervention aimed at restoring democracy in Niger.
This poll surveyed 1,618 respondents spanning all sixteen regions of Ghana. Among its findings, it revealed that nearly 76% of Ghanaians believe that coups in African countries stem from poor governance. Conversely, 17% do not share this perspective, and 7% expressed no opinion.
Furthermore, 49% of Ghanaians hold the view that coups do not provide a lasting solution to addressing governance issues, while 43% disagree, and 8% do not have a definite opinion on the matter.
The backdrop for this discussion is the recent ousting of Niger’s President, Mohamed Bazoum, leading the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to order the deployment of its standby force on August 10 to reinstate constitutional order in Niger.
The declaration was made by ECOWAS President Omar Alieu Touray during the ECOWAS Extraordinary meeting in Abuja.
Meanwhile, Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace and Security for the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS), Abdel-Fatau Musah, has contested assertions that the bloc would require 50,000 troops in Niger for a potential deployment to remove the military junta.
He pointed out that Niger’s military has approximately 13,000 personnel, and if ECOWAS were to deploy its standby army to restore the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, it wouldn’t necessitate 50,000 troops to confront them.
The question of troop numbers was initially raised by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, who cited credible sources to support his claims.
During his appearance on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, August 19, he further revealed that, regrettably, only four countries within the bloc were likely to contribute troops to this mission.
“If you really look at ECOWAS today, it’s Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Ivory Coast. Nigeria is already stretched with Boko Haram. Tinubu [Nigeria’s President] doesn’t have support. Ivory Coast says they can do 1,000 [soldiers].
“Senegal, I know has received a juicy offer from America to send their troops to Haiti to support the American intervention there because Haiti is totally getting out of control. They are likely to accept that. We’re left with Ghana, how are we going to get those numbers?” he quizzed.