Today is 96 days to the December 7th general elections and Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia, flag-bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is on a campaign train dancing to King Paluta’s ‘Aseda’ as if all is well in the country and he is already the next President.
He, and perhaps the sitting President himself, Nana Akufo-Addo, seem oblivious to the clear signs of threat to the peace of the country and an obvious electoral violence ahead of the country; an electoral violence which the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has not hidden its preparedness for.
The NDC has decided to not sign any election peace pact if six pre-conditions it gave are not met. These six conditions have never been part of the signing of peace pacts ahead of previous elections.
The NDC, at the time it has decided to not sign any peace pact ahead of the elections, is nursing a curious ‘Green Army’ at its grassroots and youth base nationwide; a Green Army of which members boldly wield machetes, take photos and post on social media with threatening captions.
The fact that some members of the NDC youth based Green Army have decided to wear military camouflage uniforms amidst their machetes at a time the party had rejected peace pact signings is more than a coincidence.
Within the same period, members of the Economic Fighters League (EFL), an anti-government revolutionary group has its leaders captured on video saying they are “invoking the spirit fighting spirit of Kenya in Ghana”
Within this same period, at the Upper Manya Krobo Constituency of the Eastern Region, dust is yet to settle down on the free for all violent political clash that broke out between members of the NDC and the NPP where the MP has been fingered as being one of the instigators of the violence.
Despite all these signs happening in Ghana at a time the West African sub-region is under a serious threat of terrorists’ infiltration and attacks, the country sees nothing wrong with a Cabinet Minister bragging openly that the NPP will never hand over power to the NDC.
A completely needless provocative comment as though it lies within the power of the NPP to decide whether or not to hand over political power after elections.
In the face of such comments from a Cabinet Minister and the fact that government has neither disassociated itself from nor condemned same, the NDC should not be entirely blamed for the posture it has adopted ahead of the polls and the strange Green Army antics and tactics it has adopted.
These are signs to be taken serious by every Ghanaian but most especially the incumbent government and to be precise the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces.
Perhaps he, the National Security Minister and the Inspector General of Police are yet to come across the photos and videos in question.
Perhaps, they have seen them but they consider them as insignificant and are standing akimbo in wait for the message of using violence to enforce electoral justice to sink in and get popular with the masses before they act.
Ghanaians are generally a peace-loving people who would chose the peace of their country ahead of their political parties. An average Ghanaian is most unlikely to go to the polls if he feels unsafe or has reason to believe there would be some violence there.
The more the perceptions of some looming violence sink in, the more voter apathy sinks in for most persons.
A government seeking an unprecedented third term would be the biggest loser of a low voter turnout.
The New Publisher, in condemning these signs and threats of violence is equally calling on Vice President Bawumia, in his capacity as Chairman of the Police Council to take a deliberate interest in these signs
At the end of the day, his boss, President Akufo-Addo has some few months to go on retirement.. he has very little left to prove.
