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‘Coups are not enduring solutions to Africa’s problems’ – Akufo-Addo

Akufo-Addo
Akufo-Addo

According to President Akufo-Addo, “Statements condemning coups alone without corresponding action will, however, achieve little or nothing, as witnessed in recent times. This problem requires collective agreement, effective deterrence, bold action, and, equally important, adequate preventive measures.”

Delivering the keynote address at a side event organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, on Friday, 17th February 2024, he stated that “there are those who still hanker after authoritarian, personal rule, because they claim Africa is underdeveloped and democracy is cumbersome, and we need to get things done in a hurry.”

Quoting from the 2019 Annual Risk of Coup Report, he indicated that Africa has experienced more coup d’états than any other continent, which, he said, is “an unsavory statistic”.

Citing the case of Ghana, President Akufo-Addo noted that political instability described much of the early decades of the nation’s life as an independent nation, and Ghana became notorious for sampling every and any type of political experiment.

“The one-party-state of the First Republic was overthrown in our first military coup, and the Second and Third Republics, which were practicing democratic governance, were also overthrown by coup d’états. My father, President of the 2nd Republic, was overthrown some 51 years ago, on 13th January 1972. Kutu Acheampong’s coup brought his stay in office to an end,” he said.

He noted, however, that for the past 30 years of our 4th Republic, Ghana has enjoyed political stability under a multi-party constitution, and the longest period of stable, constitutional governance in our hitherto tumultuous history.

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