Ghanaian lawmaker, Boniface Abubakar Saddique
Ghanaian lawmaker Boniface Abubakar Saddique says the separatist movement in the Volta region of the Ghana has had room to operate under the New Patriotic Party government because they have been allowed to.
According to him, the actions of the Western Togoland group which is spearheading the breakaway from Ghana will not be tolerated under a government of the opposition National Democratic Congress government.
“This kind of behaviour has never happened whenever the NDC is in power. Let’s be honest with ourselves. The National Security is not sleeping.
“NPP is very democratic and allows you to air and extend your emotions. But let’s not forget that your right to do that ends exactly when someone’s right begins. NPP believes in a democracy that is why these people have had their way to operate. Did you hear of them during the NDC era? It is not a failure in intelligence gathering. There is no breakdown in security,” he told Accra-based Happy FM.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo says he opted to remain calm over the insurgency instigated by the Western Togoland secessionists in the Volta Region because as a leader he must not show signs of panic.
According to him, once he begins to exhibit signs of panic the whole nation will lose focus in an effort to quash the rebels.
Speaking during his campaign in the Ashanti Region, President Akufo-Addo said he is optimistic the security agencies will deal with the uneasy calm in the Volta Region.
“I have to be calm because institutions are in place. The security agencies are doing their work. They’ve started already and we’ll see results. If I panic, the country panics. It’s like the COVID-19 disease, if I had panicked, fear would have gripped all of us,” Nana Addo stated.
He added: “But I know the work that God has appointed me to do, if I panic, the entire nation will also panic. That is not the purpose of leadership. I’m supposed to assure people that our country will work. What is happening in the Volta Region in the time of these handfuls – it’s just a handful of people, these secessionists – we’ll deal with it.
“I have no doubts about it. I trust the security agencies. I trust the Armed Forces. I trust the Police. I trust their leadership. The intelligence agencies, I know they are all working very, very, very hard to make sure that this matter is dealt with as quickly as possible.”
The Volta separatist group known as Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) has over the years been advocating for independence from Ghana. Several members of this group have been arrested after they were alleged to have engaged in activities to champion the cause of the group. These people have later been released after the state did not pursue the issue.
On Friday dawn last week, members of the group expressed their agitations for independence by blocking some roads in the Volta Region.
