A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Haruna Yusif, has chastised leaders of West African states within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), especially President Akufo-Addo, for opting to use force in addressing the Benin coup.
He stated that these West African leaders have not effectively addressed the crucial challenges facing their own countries, yet they want to assert authority in external matters without first addressing domestic issues adequately.
He also accused Presidents of some member states of lacking a solid grasp of democratic principles, adding that some are also complicit in undemocratic proceedings.
“I think the ECOWAS leaders made a hasty decision by declaring the use of force. They are calling for restoration of democracy but I want to ask them if they actually believe in democracy. Democracy is about the will of the people but let’s look at these West African Leaders,” he asked.
He chastised Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé who changed the country’s constitution in 2019 to cap the presidential mandate at two five-year terms ostensibly in response to opposition calls for an end to a political dynasty that started when Gnassingbe’s father seized power in a 1967 coup.
“Look at Togo, can Faure Gnassingbé tell us that he believes in democracy? We are all aware of how he became a president so for someone like that, he’s totally disqualified from talking about someone who has led a coup,” he said.
He also slammed Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara who since 2010 assumed power and claimed the adoption of a new constitution in 2016 would allow him to run for a third term in the 2020 presidential race because a new constitution would mean the first two terms did not count. He has not yet said if he will stand for re-election.
President Akufo-Addo was not left out of the matter as Hon Yusif slammed Ghana’s President for not being able to address the Bawku crisis, yet has agreed to support ECOWAS in the deployment of troops to Niger to restore democratic rule through force.
“I think the ECOWAS leaders made a hasty decision by declaring the use of force. They are calling for restoration of democracy but I want to ask them if they actually believe in democracy. Democracy is about the will of the people but let’s look at these West African Leaders. Look at Togo, can Faure Gnassingbé tell us that he believes in democracy?
“We are all aware of how he became a president so for someone like that, he’s totally disqualified from talking about someone who has led a coup,” he said.
“Tinubu has also not been able to deal with terrorism in his country, his citizens have no peace, they are wallowing in poverty, yet he’s leading the commission and issuing orders. Even our President, Akufo-Addo has not been able to address election violence cases in the country. He has not been able to ask our neighbouring countries to assist them address the conflict in Bawku, yet he is willing to send troops to other countries,” he added.
He holds the belief that employing dialogue and mediation is the most effective solution to tackle this issue. Therefore, he urged the leaders to initially explore this approach.