‘Broke’ economy may trigger coup – Prof Atuguba warns

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Dean of the University of Ghana, Professor Raymond Atuguba has suggested that the country’s worsening economic situation will serve as a futile ground for a coup.

According to him, the country is broke to the extent that the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has

Read full article.warned that the government may not be able to pay salaries if something is not done in the next three months.

Delivering a keynote address at a program organized by Solidaire Ghana on the topic: “A Reviewed 1992 Constitution and It's Impact On The Economy Of Ghana: Looking Forward,” Prof Atuguba stated that the current economic situation could trigger a coup.

He said his assessment that Ghana may be ripe for a coup partly springs from the knowledge he gained from accompanying my friend who worked on a thesis titled: “‘Why certain coups succeed and why others fail’ with Ghana as a case study.

Professor Atuguba had earlier on narrated how his family survived the 1979 coup back in the northern part of the country.

“Others were not that lucky. Many Ghanaians who were not able to beat the system like the way my mother did or successfully fight the system like my father did, were mistreated, beaten…even killed.

"We do not want a coup in this country yet I fear that if we do not act quickly, we may have one on our hands very soon. A former colleague doctoral Ph.D. student wrote his dissertation also on Ghana.

"He now teaches at a War College in the US. Whiles my topic was on the Ghana Police, his topic was on the Ghana military.

"Naturally, our paths intersected and we have remained friends since. My friend’s Ph.D. thesis was on the topic ‘Why certain coup succeed and why others fail’. His case study was Ghana.

"My current assessment that Ghana may be ripe for a coup partly springs from the knowledge I gained from accompanying my friend through part of his doctoral research on this topic.

"It does not help matters when we consider Samuel Huntington’s thesis on the snowballing effect of coups in the sub–region and the closeness of recent coups to home. A big part of why certain coups succeed and others fail is the economy. What is the state of Ghana’s economy today?

"At the level of the most irreducible idiomaticity, Ghana is broke. Your nation is radically broke. So broke the Speaker of Parliament has publicly warned, gavel in hand, that we may not be able to pay salaries of public sector workers in some three months unless a miracle happens.

"The Minister for finance has waded in very fine and polished English…he says something like ‘the legitimate reality is that there’s no money”.

"At least he has confessed to us that there are some illegitimate realities. Here, we recall the African adage, if a crocodile comes out of the water and tells you a fish is dead, do you challenge?'"