Ghana Fall My Hand – Frank Ofili

On January 7, 2025, world leaders gathered in Accra, Ghana, for the inauguration of His Excellency, John Dramani Mahama who was recently elected President of Ghana. This was Mahama’s second coming as Ghana’s President after his victory in the December 7 2024 presidential election.

Among leaders who attended the Inauguration was Burkina Faso’s military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who appeared in full military gear and a gleaming pistol visibly holstered on his waist. His imposing entourage of heavily armed guards all also appeared in full military kits.

Call it breach of protocol, breach of security, or whatever you may, but for me it is more than that.

It is in fact, a sign of arrogance, a lack of respect, and an overt show of lack of trust for the head of state of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traore, to attend President Mahama’s inauguration in full military gear complete with an offensive weapon on his hips.

If this was a security breach on the part of Traore and his military entourage, it was a diplomatic howler on the part of Ghana, and I am surprised they allowed it, coming from the head of state of a country which Ghana’s immediate past President had accused of harbouring Russian mercenaries.

Clearly Ghanaians ought to feel offended by the arrogance of Traore and the timidity of Ghana’s security and diplomatic apparati. Even if some sort of understanding was reached to allow Traore, it should have been more discretely managed.

And to think that this was a head of state who initially indicated that he would not personally be attending the inauguration, but would send a representative, only for him to surprisingly appear in person! What more to demonstrate lack of trust in Ghana’s ability to protect him. A monumental insult!

It is even anomalous for the head of a military junta that two years ago ousted a democratically elected President of his own country, to attend a democratic inauguration of the President of a sovereign country and do so in full military gear complete with a visible offensive weapon in tow.

Ghana is a prominent member of ECOWAS which had expressed its displeasure with Traore’s military coup in Burkina Faso. So, if his attending Mahama’s swearing-in was an oblique olive branch to ECOWAS, it was poorly executed.

We may have issues in Nigeria, but one thing I can beat my chest about is, this insult and show of arrogance can never happen in our country. If Nigeria could rebuff Almighty America during Presidents Yar Adua and Jonathan’s time, and dealt with Gaddaffi’s impudence during President Obasanjo’s time, who is Traore? Traore would have been put in his place and shown the way back to Ouagadougou.

I recall that in 2009, American government approached President Umar Musa Yar Adua of Nigeria to allow it set up a military base known as African Command (Africom) off the coast of Benin to police what they called “unpoliced” waters, protect America’s strategic interests in Africa and assist African countries with military training and conflict prevention.

President Umar Musa Yar Adua saw the American request for what it was but not overtly stated and turned it down. Rightly so. Also, at the height of Boko Haram terrorism in 2014 when the insurgent group abducted 270 school girls, America offered to send military personnel to Nigeria to assist in freeing the girls. The government of President Goodluck Jonathan declined (again rightly so), and instead opted for military training and weapons aid from US Government.

In April 2000, during the African Heads of Government Summit on Roll Back Malaria, then Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s female bodyguards had attempted to enter the International Conference Center, Abuja, with their weapons. Nigerian security officials strongly objected and not only stopped them along with their charge, Gaddafi, but also disarmed them, before allowing them into the conference venue.

These international incidents, and the way they were handled by Nigeria, demonstrate the centrality of mutual respect, security and diplomatic niceties in the conduct of state affairs.

This aside, there is also national pride. It is an affront for a foreign soldier to show up in a national event in your country, at peace time, wielding offensive weapon even if he is the head of state of his country.

Ghana fall my hand walahi!