Guest of the Black Star

Ihad barely landed in Osagyefo’s country when the airwaves were set ablaze by reports of a foiled coup. Not ever again, I said. But on the streets, life was normal. What kind of coup was this that allowed life to go on like any other coup-less day, I wondered.

Our Ghanaian host drove us round town. Nothing unusual. We even drove around the presidential palace and made a u-turn on a side street without harassment. I joked that in some countries that I know, making a u-turn in front of a military checkpoint near the presidential palace on a ‘coup day’ was another name for attempted suicide.

A government statement signed by Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, claimed that personnel drawn from Defence Intelligence, CID and Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) conducted a successful operation which led to the arrest of three persons - Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm and his two accomplices – Ezor Kafui (a local weapons manufacturer) and Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu (aka BB or ADC). But the suspects’ lawyer, Victor Kojogah Adawudu, however, contended that the development may have been the creation of the government to divert the public’s attention from national problems.

A security expert, Adam Bonaa of the Security Warehouse, agreed with the lawyer. He wondered if it was possible, as claimed by government, for a medical doctor to overthrow a government with a kitchen knife and improvised guns. Dismissing the government’s position as unconvincing, he declared that it was wrong of the government to conclude that the suspects meant to overthrow the Nana Akufo-Addo led government.

“These guns cannot even hunt [squirrels and rats] in the Dodowa Forest,” he declared. “Is it that easy to topple the president of the Republic of Ghana and destabilise the whole country? I saw the 1979 coup and other coups after 79, we are nowhere closer to that. Has there been any spontaneous agitation where people are queuing for groceries, water, fuels, essential goods and services? You need a mass movement and the support of the rank and file of the military, including the police to have a coup,” he argued.

The suspects have been arraigned on five charges including; conspiracy to commit crime – Manufacture of arms and ammunition without lawful authority, Possession of explosives and firearms without lawful authority, manufacture of firearms without lawful authority, manufacture of explosives and ammunition’s without lawful authority and possession of explosives and firearms.

A senior journalist, Kweku Baako, however, claims to have seen a video establishing the culpability of the accused. He said the security agencies had infiltrated the conspirators and secretly filmed their plans. In the video, he claimed that the suspects could be seen manufacturing weapons: “There were scenes where they even contemplated the kidnapping of the President, the Vice President, Chief of Defence Staff and some other top shots.”

However, a former Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo Mensah thought government was too hasty in announcing an attempted overthrow without credible evidence. He said no civilian can single-handedly overthrow a government in the fashion announced by the government. In his contention, evidence adduced so far in support of the allegation shows that the government officials making the announcement have no knowledge on the subject of overthrowing governments.

“I have arrested people in the past as a result of military intelligence, during the time of the Acheampong coup, many of them. But this is not the way it should have been done”, said Mensah; “Don’t rush into telling people things you have no idea about. Even a coup, you can organise it without a single weapon being fired. It depends on how you do it. No one can get up and do a coup d’etat without the military. Is this a coup d’etat attempt? No way!”

As a visitor, I monitored the whole development with amusement, remembering how my country had been thrown into turmoil many times in the past — the first coup of January 15, 1966; the counter-coup of July 29, 1966; Gowon’s overthrow on 29 July 1975; Murtala Mohammed’s assassination on February 13, 1976; the Orkar coup of April 22,1990. I thought I could write a sentence or two about events leading to typical coups and what the mood on the streets would look like. But even the ubiquitous traffic snarl on Accra’s major highways didn’t relent. Had somebody borrowed more than a chapter from Abacha’s Book of Phantom Coups?

Ghana will always be of abiding interest to Nigerians. Remember, that was where the 1967 Aburi Accord which could have prevented the Nigerian Civil War was signed? A visit to the historic place perched atop the Aburi mountain with a scenic view of Accra and its snarling traffic down below, plus the pure palmwine at Mamfe Junction to quench the sojourner’s thirst on our way to culturally-rich Akrompong was as memorable as my trip to Akosombo Dam and the fish market on the Volta Lake. Cap those with the unforgettable NEC Retreat and Inauguration of the Ghana Branch of the Great Ife Alumni Association… I wouldn’t need any excuse to visit Ghana again.

With ECOWAS, the coming on stream of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement designed to accelerate intra-African trade and boost Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations, I wager there is hope on the horizon. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s dream of an integrated prosperous continent will come to pass someday, coup scare or not. Thank you, Ghana. This guest will be back.