10 reasons every Ghanaian must oppose the US Ghana Military Co-operation agreement

There comes a time in the history of every nation when the citizens rather than leaders must rise up to defend the nation from foreign domination especially when the latter had failed in their mandate to do so. If you are still wondering when is such a moment, NOW is one.

The US Ghana military deal came with an aftermath of uproar and condemnation from wide sections of Ghanaians, irrespective of their political divide.

Below are some reasons outlined as to why every Ghanaian must oppose this impending disaster presented to us as cooperation

1. The military deal is one for the establishment of a MILITARY BASE: the ministry of defense under the Government of Ghana betrayed the trust of Ghanaians by lying about the nature of the deal. It has nothing to do with co-operation. A simple search about military bases on Wikipedia reveals the lie of our government. Everything in the scope and purpose of the agreement papers released by the Ministry of defense corroborate what Wikipedia defines as a military base. Also camp lemonier in Djibouti (another US base in Africa) has striking similarities in terms of operations and strategic location in the country with the about to be established base in Ghana. According to the US department of defense base structure report 2008, Ghana is one of the countries earmarked for the established of a base. Today it is coming into fruition. The basis for the establishment of this base is the protection of United States economic interest in West Africa.

2. Ghana will become a prime target for terrorist attacks: Burkina Faso since 2015 has had to deal with terrorism largely due to the presence of French military units. Ghana is not far away. Precaution would have demanded that our Government does not do anything to feature on the radar of these terrorists.

3. We cannot inspect anything they bring or take out of this country: this should raise a serious red flag. The US Marines have a record of engaging in cocaine smuggling from Nicaragua to the US markets and heroin smuggling from Afghanistan. These are countries with US military bases. What if they start smuggling drugs into our beloved nation? Who is there to check. What if they start testing their unconventional weapons in our country?

How does Ghana stand to benefit from this?



4. Ghana government cannot tax anything they bring into our nation; just imagine the revenue loss. In a country where the government needs every coin to run the affairs of the state, especially when we want to see Akuffo Addo's provoking campaign promises get fulfilled, government is going to let these US dollar bills to remain in the vaults of US government.

And then at the end of the day, the Ghanaian small business holder has to bear the brunt of government’s unpopular decisions by having to pay ever increasing taxes at the ports. This is certainly not fair to Ghanaians.

5. The US government is insulting us; they is asking us sell our sovereignty for a mere paltry sum of $ 20 million. An amount if shared amongst all Ghanaians will translate to less than 3 cedi per head. Meanwhile since 1988, the US government has been paying over $1 billion a year to the government of Philippines for the establishment of basis. In addition the government of Philippines has the power to examine matériel being brought into their country refuse entry if found out not to be in the national interest of the country. Meanwhile when the same thing is being done in Ghana, we given way less and told we cannot check anything brought into this country and yet still go out of the way to ratify the agreement. What kind of leaders do we have?

6. Our constitution is only a hollow book to these American soldiers on our land; our constitution which has been the basis for the justice served to wrongdoers and victims in Ghana do not apply to these soldiers. They are free to shoot to kill anyone in Ghana and not be subjected to the rigors of our laws. Which caliber of leaders would agree and ratify such an agreement? There are countless cases where US soldiers in foreign bases have violated the citizens, got sent back home in the name and nothing happened - no justice for the victims.

7. Countries worldwide with US Bases are fighting for their exit: In Philippines, there is popular agitation and pressure mounting on the government to show the US troops the exit. In Germany and Japan, the story is the same. Therefore in a Geopolitical trend like this, it beats my imagination the way the government in our side of the world fast tracked the agreement to settle the American soldiers on our land.

8. Nigeria had previously rejected this very deal that our leaders have accepted. All Africa over, we are the subject of ridicule, mockery and despise. Ghana which is on the record to have rekindled the hope of African people by initiating the fight against colonialism in Africa south of the Sahara is now seen, in the eyes of revolutionaries as the steward of neocolonialism. This certainly has come to put a dip on our reputation as Ghanaians; a dip we possible may not be able to recover from.

9. It should be noted that without the US-Africa command, (US military organization that oversees all US military operations in Africa) Qathafi might be still be alive. Remember, if there's any US military attack on any country in West Africa, Ghana made it possible.

10. The US Military is the most undisciplined and morally decadent military in the world. The fact that they are able to use lethal means to get their around the world doesn't prove this point otherwise. There are so many personnel who are homosexuals in the army. Wherever they go they leave their trademark of sodomy and sexual abuse. In Iraq, Afghanistan etc. they did it. But in a nation like Ghana with customs and traditions that frown on such acts, we should resist to blood and bones to make sure these soldiers do not come onto our land, especially when we can't regulate their activities. Like viruses, they have the potential affecting the lifestyle of Ghanaians.

Arise Ghana youth for your country, the nation demands your devotion NOW!

For God and Country!