War in Ivory Coast will have devastating effects on Ghana

Before I was born, there was a country called Ghana and later an infant organization formed and acronymed ECOWAS.

My heart pumped when I read the content of a press confab organized by the flag bearer of the opposition NPP, Nana Akuffo Addo regarding the stance of the president of Ghana, Prof. John Evans Attah Mills in the ongoing political fall out in Ivory Coast.

Prior to the NPP confab, Prof Mills made it clear that he cannot object to ECOWAS as a body’s decision to resort to war to bring sanity into the political scene in Ivory Coast. But he will not contribute troops to that course because Ghana’s military troops are already overstretched as a result of engagement in home and other international assignments.

In his press confab, Nana Akuffo Addo considers Prof. Mills’ stance as not clear and;

? Betrayal of ECOWAS by Ghana and

? Damaging Ghana’s diplomatic relations

This issues raised by Akuffo Addo to me are trivial rather than vital in comparison with Prof. Mills’ reasoning.

In my opinion, all that Prof. Mills is saying is simple. From his utterances, he seems to be saying; Ghana is a member of ECOWAS and for that reason, any decision taking by ECOWAS binds on her but Ghana is not in support of ‘war’ to restore peace to Ivory Coast. This stance by Prof. Mills to me is reasonable by all standards.

Why?

The answer is not far fetched; Prof. Mills must have considered the consequences of war in Ivory Coast on Ghana and realized that the negative effects out weighs the positive effects if there is any at all.

My Brothers and Sisters let us take our time to delve into some of these far reaching negative consequences that Prof. might have considered before arriving at his stance .

A war in Ivory Coast will lead to;

? Influx of Ivorian refugees into Ghana. Ghana will become the hub of Ivorian refugees than any other country in the ECOWAS sub region because of the close proximity, enviable Ghanaian hospitality and peace and above all stable governance. Taking a queue from what happened in the Liberian war, it would have been logical that most of the refugees flee to neighbouring Ivory Coast and Nigeria, but record shows that more Liberian refugees fled into Ghana than any of these two neighbouring countries. How much more if it happens in a country that shares boarders with Ghana. The influx of these refugees, will lead to a further pressure on Ghana’s economic resources, social amenities e.g. hospitals, schools etc amidst the import of communicable and transmittable diseases e.g. HIV and AIDS which is allegedly known to have eaten deep into the health fabrics of Ivory Coast with its numerous effects.

? Ghana’s oil field as a target; Ghana’s oil field boarders with Ivory Coast and we all know Ivory Coast has ones made an unsuccessful claim of portions of that particular oil field. Going into war in Ivory Coast will therefore provide a perfect platform for destroying Ghana’s oil fields by rival factions in the war and other secret groups in the Sub Saharan Region for selfish reasons. Considering even the initial start up capital for the project, Ghana will be hit with serious economic crisis if they succeed in destroying the oil fields.

The list of consequences could go on unabated but these two are the most critical few for any selfless leader to consider in arriving at a decision in times like this.

It is therefore sad and a pity for Ghana, that Nana Akuffo Addo’s selfish interest has engulfed his sense of mercy and pity and has not paused for a second to consider most of these things before organizing a press confab lambasting President Mills to score cheap political points.

I would have taken Nana Akuffo Addo serious, if he had suggested pragmatic alternative solutions to the problem in Ivory Coast rather than backing the decision by ECOWAS to use war.

Based on the above, I want to throw the following questions for us to ponder over.

? Is the betrayal of ECOWAS by Ghana as alleged by Akuffo Addo, more important than the innocent blood that will be shared and invaluable lost and pain it will bring to families who might lose their precious sons and daughters in a war sparked by a conspiracy of which they did not play a part?

? Diplomatic relations are formed in the prime interest of the citizenry of countries. The question here is; what becomes of a nations diplomatic relations, if her citizens for which it is fostered to protect are destroyed in a war?

Furthermore, my advice for the two candidates at the centre of this controversy is that, the solution lies with them. They should put the interest of the Ivory Coast first and consider the wisdom in the good old saying; a nightmarish end is better than a nightmare that never ends and smokes the peace pipe for the betterment of Ivory Coast and the world at large.

Finally, it is high time Akuffo Addo realized that Prof. Mills is the president of Ghana and for that reason assumes the position of an uncontested principal and has control over all Government operations and decisions.

I therefore challenge him to get real and practical rather than partisan and selfish in delicate issues of this nature.

Thanks

KALSAK

kalsak@ymail.com