<<Print>>

I wish to respond to the criticism being level against the president, Prof. JEA Mills about his Dzi wo fie asem foreign policy. It seems the accusers are missing the point that even if the former president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah were to be alive, he would not have supported and lead Africa to fight what they seem Prof. Mills is not doing today. Let us look at the two issues that have been their reference points. First the conflict in La Cote D� Vore, I think the accusers of president Mills have to condemn the then president of Ivory Coast who defied the international community and was behaving as if the country Ivory Coast was his personal property and that the other Ivoirians do not have any stake in that country, that the Ivory Coast led by Gbagbo does not belong to the international community of nations who have the responsibility to assist one another when such crises have arisen. They have also failed see the fact that Ghana needed to be cautious as to how she approaches the issue of the Ivory Coast, since any infuriated party in the conflict could target our oilfield which is closer to that country. Much as it is good that Ghana takes the front role in such issues, it was evidently clear that the country�s economic interest was at stake and any party to the conflict could have easily targeted our oilfield. Thus, there was the need for Ghana to approach the issue tactically, and do behind the scene maneuvering to get the problem resolved and that was what the president did and I am sure if Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was alive and is the president of Ghana that, would have been the solution he would have adopted. The accusers have also forgotten the fact that at the time that Nkrumah took the center stage of African issues, there were no such regional bodies like the ECOWAS, AU and the likes to take up these issues and collectively address them. If Ivory Coast as a country saw wisdom in belonging to such regional bodies, but Gbagbo as a president thought he could defy the collective will of the people and chose the path that pleases him alone, I am sorry he needed to be treated as such. Secondly, about the issue of Libya, I am amazed some of these accusers call themselves democrats. Who made Ghadafii the life president of Libya? Is he alone the person qualified to rule that country? Is it not enough for him alone to rule that country for forty two years? Is it not the right for every citizen to demonstrate to register his or her dissatisfaction about any issue concerning him or her? What is the crime of the Libyan people to demonstrate to call for political reforms in a country that they all have a stake? If Ghadafii can call his own people croc aches which needed to be killed and he has called for the total elimination of his own people whom he suppressed for far too long who call for political reforms, what mercy is there for such a person? Will the accusers of Prof. Mills feel okay if the president has set aside the constitution our country and started doing things his own way? Are Ghadafii and his children alone the people of Libya? Let us be serious about issues that we take on the president for. I do not think that what Ghadafii has taken his people through, he deserves any sympathy. I think whatever NATO is doing in Libya was sanctioned by the UN. We do not have other options. It is the folly of Ghadafii that has put him in the situation which he is now. I think the king of Morocco, being cautious of the enormity of the situation quickly agreed to a kind of reforms which may not be what his people wanted, but he has given them a platform from where further negotiations will be based. That is a wise decision to be taken to ameliorate such a volatile situation. If Ghadaffi thought he is supreme and the other Libyans do not have any stake in that country, then he deserves what he is getting now. People are arguing that innocent civilian are being killed by NATO bombings. Yes, this may be true, but there is no other option. The best option is to remove Ghadafii from power to reorient the Libyan people towards the path of democracy as it is in Ghana where every body has equal stake in the country and can freely express his or her views on matters concerning the state of Ghana. Finally, the world is a global village and, thus, what happens in one country affects all of us. Therefore, we can not sit unconcern for Ghadafii to hold himself supreme and independent of the rest of the people of the world to commit crimes he has committed to his people and the world at large. I do not think if Dr. Kwame Nkrumah were to be alive today, he will go to the rescue of Ghadafii. For, I do not Also think that the conduct and the behavior of Ghadafii forms part of the kind of African society that Dr. Nkrumah sort to build. There is no benefit Ghana would get for committing her time and resources in defending a wicked person like Ghadafii and the Libyan people have to go through what has happened once to get rid of Ghadafii to create a free and just society which is based on the values of democracy. It is after the exit of Ghadafii that Ghana can effectively assess the role she can play to help the Libyan people to reform and adopt democracy with a strong civil society organizations and institutions that will help them discard the tribal based society that has characterized that country. Therefore, if Prez. Mills said Ghana is waiting to see what she can do in Libya, it is well said.