”Our soldiers will safeguard the will of the people rather than overthrow a gov’t”–Ghana’s Defence Minister

There is consternation among African governments in light of military takeovers in parts of the continent. However, the Defence minister of Ghana, Dominic Nitiwul exudes confidence that the ”disciplined military of Ghana” will live above board as a respected institution worldwide in accord with its professional stature.

The Ghanaian minister said, even in the face of the most alluring and tempting situations, what the Ghana Armed Forces are likely to do is to protect the constitution, and by extension the will of the people and not to overthrow a democratically-elected government.

What this appears to mean is that the military supports processes that secure the integrity of the political organization of the country to ensure that the true winners of polls under the popular mandate of the population are guaranteed.

Mr. Dominic Nitiwul was responding to questions from the media regarding the coups that had occurred in Africa, with bad leadership and worsening economic conditions cited as motivations for the putsches. Guinea Conakry, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Sudan are among some of the countries bedeviled with the bittersweet experience evidenced in the mixed reactions that greeted those adventures.

Ghana last experienced a successful military coup in 1979. Since 1993 Ghana has consolidated on democratic rule winning the plaudits as a beacon of democracy, an accolade even more relevant for its symbolism as an islander within a region dogged by all kinds of instability.