News of a planned coup d’ etat was stunning, strange and seemed totally out of place. Did some mischievous individuals conspire to topple a democratically elected government as the ruling NPP would want us to believe?
Doubts abound as to the veracity of the government’s claims. I took the news with a pinch of salt because with our democratic bona fides earned over nearly thirty years of good governance, free and fair elections, accompanied by a free press and judiciary, a worldwide recognition for our efforts, a coup will the last thing on the mind of any Ghanaian with his or her head screwed on right for a variety of reasons.
Coups are relics of the past; they have been confined to the scrapheap of history. They have essentially been “outlawed” by every nation on earth.
Coups are no longer attractive or part of the political zeitgeist anywhere in the world, particularly in Africa and in Latin America where at one point or the other, they were ubiquitous, common place.
Additionally, coups are detached from today’s reality, by which I mean modern day citizens are no longer enamored of soldiers usurping power, power that they the citizens have reposed in their elected representatives by virtue of the ballot box.
And then there is the fact that coups are no more tools used by disgruntled groups of soldiers and their civilian co-conspirators to forcefully remove constitutionally elected governments.
There are other tools available for the members of the armed forces, and those tools are their votes. If they feel aggrieved by their government and want to effect a change in the direction the country is headed, all they have to do is wait their turn at the polling station to cast their votes.
Even if coup plotters succeed in toppling a civilian government, a mountain load of challenges will be awaiting them.
Domestically, they will face resistance from citizens who would not be in the mood to be governed by a bunch of crazies easily given to violating human rights, destroying the economy and looting the national coffers.
In the West African subregion, ECOWAS will spring into action to pronounce the coup illegal, make its organizers miserable and declare them persona non grata.
What is more, ECOWAS will ensure that the coup makers are rejected outright by other nations in the region and when the situation demands it, ECOWAS will send in troops to make sure democracy is restored.
And that is just the beginning of the misery saga for the coup organizers. Across the continent of Africa, the coup makers will meet cold stares and have the welcome mat removed from under their feet.
The African Union, despite its many challenges, ironically possesses the power to ostracize coup makers, isolate them and make life harder and governance almost impossible, by imposing economic sanctions.
Making matters worse, the International community, the UN, the EU and other international organization will treat the coup makers with disdain, contempt and disgust. In other words, the rest of the world will ensure that the coup is short-lived and not succeed.
Given all these imposing difficulties, which Ghanaian in his or her right frame of mind will really want to expend efforts, money and human capital to stage a coup only to be rejected by his or her own people, by his/her West African neighbors and the international community.
Come to think of it, I find it absurd and preposterous for the government to parade the three alleged coup plotters before a gaggle of reporters and announce to the world that it was in danger of being overthrown. Ghanaians deserve better than this absurd fabrication.
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