Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr has charged the Government of Ghana to apply counter force to the attacks by the Western Togoland Secessionist group.
Ghanaians, on Friday, September 25, 2020, woke up to a secessionist group causing chaos in the Volta Region as they call for independence to form a new country.
The group blocked principal roads in the Volta Region, impeding vehicular movement and leaving passengers traveling to areas in the Region stranded.
They further attacked Police stations at Aveyime and Mepe in the North Tongu District, amidst demands for the Volta Region to be an autonomous country known as “Western Togoland”.
On Tuesday, September 29, some unidentified gunmen allegedly belonging to the secessionist group, in protest, also set ablaze some buses at the State Transport Corporation (STC) yard in Ho.
Following the attacks, a joint team made up of the Military and the Ghana Police Service have apprehended some suspects in connection with the revolt.
Addressing the issue on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ program, Kweku Baako bemoaned the group’s approach to attracting the government’s attention to their matter.
According to him, the group should not be entertained stressing their action is an attack on the constitution of Ghana and the entire nation.
He further expressed strong dissenting view with those calling for a negotiation between the group and government, asserting there is nothing to dialogue about.
“Dialogue to what end? dialoguing with whom and for what?”
“You sit with them to achieve what purpose? . . . They’re already on board. They’re within Ghana. They’re Ghanaian citizens. So, what are we going to negotiate?” he questioned.
To Mr. Baako, should the group continue to exert force on the nation, the State must reply accordingly.
“If they use force, we should apply counter force . . . If they apply force, the State of Ghana should apply counter force to keep the unitary character of Ghana intact. Ghana is a unitary Republic. The 1956 elections determine that; we became a Republic in 1960. We are a unitary Republic; that’s what we are and that’s what the constitution recognizes. If you try to change it through force, you’re attacking the constitution and the nation, and the nation is entitled to apply counter force [operative words – counter force] to ensure that we keep our territorial integrity, our national sovereignty, the unitary Republican character of this State intact. No compromise on that; there will be no negotiation,” he insisted.