Coups: Akufo-Addo watering down seriousness of West African situation – Security analyst

A security analyst, Adib Saani has maintained that the decision by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to negate the claim that coups have become a norm in the West African Sub-region was to water down the situation.

President Akufo-Addo downplayed the assertion that coups have become the norm in the sub-region in an interview on French 24 over the weekend.

But Mr. Saani has a contrary view.

In his opinion, coups have become a norm in the sub-region.

Speaking in an interview on the mid-day news Accra 100.5 FM on Monday, February 21, 2022, he said “The president is just watering down the seriousness of the issue because he does not want to paint that picture out there but many of the coups have become copycat and the president cannot runway from that fact.”

He stressed that President Akufo-Addo as Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is aware that coups are becoming a norm.

He maintained that the situation is contagious in the sub-region considering the cross-cutting issues that cause coups in the sub-region like mass youth unemployment, corruption among others.

He noted that even entrenched democracies like Ghana is not immune from coup.

He cautioned the country to be wary of some of its policies like the fuel price increment, agitations of #FixTheCountry movement and gagging of journalists as well as the entrenched position of the government to pass the E-levy against the wish of majority of the populace.