The bloodbath in Ghana is inevitable if anarchy persists – Former capo of national security

General News of Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-02-05

Former National Security Minister under the Rawlings administration, Kofi Totobi Quakyi has warned of an inevitable bloodbath in Ghana in the 2020 elections, if lawlessness persists.

He added that the violent eruptions that characterized the partial election of the constituency of Ayawaso West Wuogon in Accra on January 31, 2019 "were a worrying omen of the upcoming elections of 2020 and the inevitability from the bloodshed if we persist. "

In an open letter to President Akufo-Addo, Totobi Quakyi stated that the scenes of the partial election of Ayawaso West Wuogon were utterly outrageous and deserved that all true patriots of Ghana be condemned, added: another expression of widespread anarchy, impunity and disregard for legality, that our democracy certainly can not survive if it is not controlled. "

He said he wrote this letter in the hope that President Akufo-Addo "could exercise the moral authority" of his office "to get this country out of the precipice in which it is now", and because that it is "imperative Ghanaians have an honest and factual conversation about the events."

Below, Totobi Quakyi's letter to President Akufo-Addo

February 4, 2019

Her Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana
Jubilee House Accra.

Your excellence,

OPEN LETTER ON THE RECENT EVENTS OF THE AYAWASO WEST WUOGON CONSTITUENCE

I write to you in my capacity as former National Security Minister, as a son of the country and as a father, in the hope that you would exercise the moral authority of your office to bring out this country of the precipice on which he stands now. The scenes we saw during the by-election at Ayawaso West Wuogon were quite shameful and deserved the condemnation of all the true patriots of this country. More importantly, these events were just another expression of widespread anarchy, impunity and contempt for the rule of law, which our democracy certainly could not survive if it were not controlled. Nothing less than the very stability of this nation is at stake, because the next step from this point will take us beyond the edge and into the abyss.

Your Excellency, I occupied the national security portfolio in the 2000 presidential election and oversaw the first democratic transition of political power since Ghana gained independence about four decades ago. The result of this election did not favor my party or my esteemed candidate, and the missed opportunity to continue the work we had started was a disappointment. Yet, I have had the privilege of having played a vital role in baderting our country's commitment to the great ideals of freedom and justice and on the path of peace and democracy. Much of the details of this memorable period remain in the confidences of those of us who are most intimately involved, including your good self. You know that good advice has prevailed over small partisanship and that this ego has been subject to the interests and wisdom of the people of Ghana. I respectfully request that you keep this in mind, because the uncertainty of the present time does not require any less.

Your Excellency, I took the time to inform you of the public details of the unsavory events that marred the by-election and to take advantage of my little national security experience to badess their consequences and their implications without prejudice or presumption. That's why I think it's imperative that Ghanaians have an honest and factual conversation about the events of last Thursday. They were ominous of the upcoming 2020 elections and the inevitability of bloodshed if we persisted in this path. Our continent is full of countries that have degenerated into civil war for less. We must put aside our partisan colors to learn from what has happened and commit ourselves to avoid any future repetition in the name of posterity. Dozens of men waiting for yesterday should not condemn the hopes of tomorrow and their generations.

I have been outraged by the suggestion that armed and masked men who attack innocent Ghanaians are agents of our national security apparatus. Senior officials of your administration have made this badertion several times and based their justifications on the same brutality. It should also be noted that other government officials insisted that the brigands had been hired by the Democratic National Congress, who had been engaged to orchestrate chaos in order to streamline my party's withdrawal from the party. 39, by-election. These explanations, by their very nature, are mutually exclusive, suggesting that at least one of them is a patent lie.

This last statement, which was advanced by the national leadership of your party, was contradicted on the Saturday following the incident by your own Minister of National Security. L & # 39; Hon. Bryan Acheampong agreed with the previous explanation, claiming that the men belonged to him and alleged that they threatened threats to the home of Mr. Delali Brempong, a career pharmacist and parliamentary candidate.

Mr. President, Ghanaians are very proud of the exemplary professionalism of the women and men of our national security apparatus. It is a product of their thorough training, their remarkable discipline and their personal integrity. They have defended the country many times to preserve our peace and freedom without recognition or praise. The idea that these marauders are numerous in their ranks diminishes the service and the sacrifice of those true patriots who protect their country and their compatriots. The reckless use of real firepower against unarmed citizens; the attempt to enter a private residence without a warrant; the physical aggression of a Member sitting in Parliament; threats against election officials, party agents and independent observers; and the battery of uniformed military who sought to intervene in these acts of intimidation – these are totally inconsistent with the professional and operational guidelines of the national security apparatus I know.

The truth is that these things actually happened and were well documented by journalists and election observers. The current attempt to gasify the Ghanaian public is not going to wash, and it is also terribly myopic and myopic. Those of your advisers who publicly mock the intelligence of the Ghanaian people – rejoicing at recent events and arousing rehearsal thoughts – betray your reputation and betray your heritage. The indignation of your appointed election commissioner over the gravity of the situation only fuels the embers that we must extinguish in a hurry. The vanity of his response shows a surprising political immaturity and his attempt to discredit the observations and legitimate concerns of independent observers is truly regrettable, unreasonable and imprudent.

The events of Ayawaso West Wuogon mark a notable escalation of political violence that is fast becoming a staple of our policy, as it has been perpetrated on behalf of the state and with the means of its defense. They create a precedent that almost guarantees a cycle of revenge and retaliation that will irreparably weaken the rule of law in our country and, what is even more worrying, will destroy the already fragile trust of the public in some of our most critical national institutions. . This, Your Excellency, constitutes the ultimate threat to the security of any country, especially in our part of the world.

Several civil society organizations, including Occupy Ghana, have urged you to set up a judicial inquiry commission on the unfortunate events of last Thursday. Please consider these calls. The inaction of your government will be tantamount to the complicity of your presidency in these inexcusable acts.

Your Excellency, I have had the habit lately of refraining from the hubbub of our public discourse, because I really enjoy the solitude of private life. But silence in such a moment is tantamount to moral cowardice and I owe it to my God, my family and my country to denounce what is manifestly and unequivocally. I urge you to act with haste to expedite a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the events of Ayawaso West Wuogon so that justice is done. It must be a substantive investigation, a credible investigation. Otherwise, I fear that our national memory of your legacy is a moral neglect that has allowed us to move forward.

I end with the words of a hymn of my dear Methodist Church, to which I have recalled these last days. I hope this will resonate at home as a man of faith and that people who have moral authority in Ghana and who will fall on this letter could defend this right and echo his advice:

Once for every man and nation

Comes the moment to decide,

In the conflict of truth and lies,

For the good or the bad side;

A good cause, a good decision,

Offering each bloom or burn,

And the choice goes forever

Between this darkness and this light.

Although the cause of evil is prospering,

Yet the truth alone is strong;

Although his share is the scaffold,

And on the throne, be wrong;

Yet this scaffold influences the future,

And behind the weak unknown,

Rest God in the shade,

Watch over his own.

Your Excellency, far too many things have already been sacrificed for the future of this nation.

I send you the badurances of my highest consideration in this regard.

I'm staying,

Regards,

Kofi Totobi Quakyi, CV