Following President Akufo-Addo’s appeal to the Ghana Armed Forces to remain loyal to the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has taken a swipe at the former.
The Lawmaker has asked the President to be much concerned about the welfare of the military other than fearing their weapons.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Ablakwa admonished Akufo-Addo to concentrate on finding solutions to the legitimate demands of the suffering civilians other than resorting to pleas to the military ranks.
He cited examples from Sri Lanka and Sudan where bad leadership led to series of demonstrations by disappointed citizens and the consequent overthrow of its President Omar al-Bashir.
This, he supported his argument stating that “…leaders who make the fatal mistake of fearing guns instead of the people have deeply regretted.”
In his view, he noted that “Soldiers cannot protect any government; only government’s own humane policies and responsible conduct can guarantee its protection.”
He further said it was ‘unwise’ to go begging soldiers while contemptuously ignoring the hunger and anger of the ordinary Ghanaian because after all the military personnel are also experiencing same conditions.
“The soldiers don’t live in a different economy and are equally experiencing the hardships. What soldiers all over the world hate, is to be asked to march loyally on hungry stomachs,” Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa counseled the president in his post.
The legislator further called on the president to implement urgent remedial measures to rescue suffocating Ghanaians, as Ghana is presently going through a downward spiral of economic growth.
In line with this, he suggested that the President fires the finance minister now because the clueless Economic Management Team ought to be disbanded with dispatch; corruption and profligacy should be uprooted.
According to the former deputy Education Minister under the erstwhile NDC government, sacking the finance minister must be accorded with ruthless retrievals of all “stolen taxpayer funds; cancellation of reckless prestige projects his bloated government including the disgraceful position of CEO for a non-existent Keta Port must be drastically pruned.”
“The countless retirees on contract should go home and catch a well-deserved rest; and as we have often demanded — it is time to convene a non-partisan economic forum to harvest fresh ideas. And if the President cannot pursue these as outlined, he should simply resign without further delay,” he added.
He concluded by saying that everyone highly cherishes the democratic gains and do not wish for or seek a derailment, and that however, the President’s “abysmal, inept, insensitive, incompetent and visionless leadership” poses a major threat to Ghana’s democratic stability.
Thus, President Akufo-Addo “should fear empty stomachs, not loaded guns.”
