President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has charged West African leaders to take a keen interest in the strain of coup d’etat in the sub-region and take action against them.
He said no country is insulated from such actions and the earlier they are nipped in the bud, the better.
At the start of a virtual meeting of member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Friday, January 28, he warned that the deteriorating political situation in our region should be a matter of grave concern to all of us.
“No country is insulated from the occurrence in the community and we have to take action to nip it in the bud.”
The meeting had one agenda: ‘The Crisis in Burkina Faso and Its Ramifications’.
It followed the coup d’etat in that country on Monday, January 24, after soldiers ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kabore from office.
It comes months after same happenings occurred in Mali twice, on August 18, 2020 and May 24, 2021, and Guinea, on September 5, 2021.
“Added to this is the complex security environment occasioned by terrorist attacks and pandemics presenting for us a toxic situation.”
Ghana’s leader, who is also the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the bloc, observed that the excesses being recorded in some countries is clear evidence that not every country accepts democracy as the preferred mode of government.
“We still have some work to do to convince such people that we are all safer under democracy.
“The resurgence of coup d’etats in our region is in direct violation of our democratic tenets and represents a threat to peace, security an stability in West Africa.”
Deliberations will seek to find a lasting solution to mutinies not only in Burkina Faso but also in the entire sub-region.
Already, Mali and Guinea are under sanctions from the bloc.
“The rest of the world is looking up to us to be firm in this matter and await the outcome of our meeting.”
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana
