I See Nothing Wrong With Parade By Special Forces Unit - Kweku Baako

Editor-In-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako says he sees nothing wrong with the parade by the Special Forces Unit during last Tuesday's 55th Independence Day Anniversary, provided the services of the unit will be employed to serve the nation and not the parochial interest of a few people. During the commemoration of the country�s 55th birthday parade at the Independence Square in Accra on Tuesday, the GAF displayed what they called the Elite Forces which were in three bands of about 50 each for the Army, Navy and the Air Force and separate from the regular officers. But the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) maintains government has a hidden agenda in including the Special Forces in Tuesday�s march more so as election approaches. Mustapha Hamid, spokesperson for NPP�s flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo questioned the relevance of the unit and called on government to clarify why the unit continues to exist within the GAF after it was proscribed by the 1992 Constitution. �That is an anomaly; why do we have to have a normal army contingent, a normal navy contingent, a normal air force contingent and then within the air force we have a special force�, I think that that requires some explanation from the Ghana Army, or from the Chief of Defence Staff or from the Ministry of Defence�What role will those special forces be playing that our regular forces cannot play? So, therefore, you have cause to feel that there is sinister motive,� he said. Speaking as a panelist on Peace FM�s morning show �Kokrokoo�, Kweku Baako called for de-politicization of the issue. To him, Mustapha Hamid should have waited for the general view of the party on the issue before coming out, adding that Hamid�s comments might not be that of the position of Nana Akufo-Addo. ��My problem is the brouhaha surrounding the Special Forces; honestly it should not have been a problem. Strictly speaking as far I know it is a creation of a new army and so there is nothing like violation of the constitution�as the country grows, it will be dangerous to be remain static without any strategic engineering�generally speaking, I am 100% for it, I see nothing wrong with the special forces of whatever kind�,� he said. The newspaper editor, who sounded highly impressed with yesterday�s parade, however called on government to take a second look at how school children are made to stand for long periods of time without water and food. ��The parade was impressive and turn out of security services were really smart�I am not against going on route marches and parades as such; but I think the format must be looked at; probably the timing and the number of students involved�Perhaps Nduom�s theory can be re-examined and perhaps modified�.,� he added.