A poll conducted by the Global InfoAnalytics has shown that majority in Ghana are not in support of sending troops to Niger to help restore constitutional rule.
According to the research conducted between Friday, August 18, and Saturday, August 19,2023, 52 percent of respondents are opposed to sending soldiers from Ghana to Niger, 38 percent in support and 10 percent have no opinion.
According to Global InfoAnalytics, those who are not in favour of sending troops are afraid of a possible if Ghanaian soldiers were to be involved.
The views according to Global InfoAnalytics were sampled from 1,618 respondents across the 16 regions of Ghana.
The poll also found that nearly 76 percent of the respondents share the view that coups in Africa have been occasioned by bad governance in those countries, while 17 percent do not share this view, and 7 percent have no opinion.
The research also said 49 percent of Ghanaians insisted that coups are not a durable solution to bad governance, while 43 percent disagree and 8 percent have no opinion.
The coup
On July 26, 2023, the presidential guard in Niger detained President Mohamed Bazoum, and the presidential guard commander, General Abdourahamane Tchiani proclaimed himself the leader of a new military junta.
The presidential guard forces closed the country’s borders, suspended state institutions, and declared a curfew.
Reacting to the development, leaders of the ECOWAS regional bloc agreed to deploy a “standby” military force to Niger.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS, said the use of force would be a “last resort”.
Also on Friday, August 18, West African military leaders indicated that they are on standby, awaiting the activation of the ECOWAS order to deploy forces into Niger.
The objective of this anticipated deployment is to compel the coup-makers to relinquish control and reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
This formed a crucial part of the resolutions of the 48th Extraordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CDS) in Accra, Ghana.
General Abdourahamane Tchiani however says he will hand over to a democratic government after three years.