Ghana-US agreement: Open letter to President Akufo-Addo

Mr. President, I'm confident you mean well; with the security and wellbeing of Ghana as your paramount priority. It is also fair to assume that you left the details of the Ghana-US agreement/negotiations to your ministers, especially your Defense Minister, to work out the fines points with the US DoD.

As someone who has experience in both governments' bureaucracies I wish to humbly suggest that you put party politics aside and review the agreement critically as the final protector of the interest of Ghana.

I wish to state that I don’t see anything wrong with partnering with any and all countries to solve common and global problems and threats. In matters of this nature the US puts country before party. The US has permanent interest, not permanent friends. America First! That’s right. Are you doing the same for your country or just your skin?

Some questions I will like to pose to you are:

1. Do you believe that the US administration and Congress will accept such terms if the tables were turned?

2. Do you believe a US partnership/to reduce poverty and unemployment will help more compare to this agreement; in fighting the threat of terrorism in Ghana? Please refer to Gen. Collins Powell's view point on the matter.

3. Did your ministers conduct any social impact studies relative to this agreement in the short, medium and long terms? Spike in crimes, prostitution, fatherless children, on and on.

4. Will the agreement unduly make Ghana a target of extremist groups

opposed to the US or make Ghana a safer country? “A friend of my enemy is my enemy”...that is the mentality of ideologues.

5. How will this agreement affect your peacekeepers in places like the Middle East and S. Sudan? What will be the impact on Ghana's hard-earned, long standing reputation as a neutral party in peacekeeping Ops?

6. Is the fight against nations or against ideologies or nations? What will be the best approaches in ideological warfare?

7. Have you considered signing none-aggression and peace pacts with all the neighboring states of Ghana instead of military buildup, so that Ghana can re-direct its scare resources from military warfare to productive uses?

8. Are you convinced that the agreement will benefits Ghana more than it will benefit the US' strategic and security interests?

9. Is $20M a price tag you put on Ghana’s sovereignty, its Accra Airforce Base and Achiase?

Yours sincerely,

Nii