Tell us something ‘sensible’, you know the identity of secessionists – Pratt rebukes govt

Seasoned journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr has slammed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his government over their response to the Western Togoland secession brouhana.

Some residents in the Volta Region have engaged in violent attacks days ago to demand freedom from Ghana.

Popularly called the Western Togoland Secessionists, the group has attacked the State Transport Corporation (STC) and some Police stations in the Region.

They set some buses belonging to the STC ablaze, calling on the government to grant them independence to become a country.

Recently responding to the group, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in an interview on Hello FM during his tour in the Ashanti Region, stressed that he has left the issue in the capable hands of the appropriate security personnel.

“I have to be calm because institutions are in place. The security agencies are doing their work. They’ve started already and we’ll see results. If I panic, the country panics. It’s like the COVID-19 disease, if I had panicked, fear would have gripped all of us. But I know the work that God has appointed me to do, if I panic, the entire nation will also panic. That is not the purpose of leadership. I’m supposed to assure people that our country will work. What is happening in the Volta Region in the time of these handful – it’s just a handful of people, these secessionists – we’ll deal with it. I have no doubts about it,” he said.

“I trust the security agencies. I trust the Armed Forces. I trust the Police. I trust their leadership. The intelligence agencies, I know they are all working very, very, very hard to make sure that this matter is dealt with as quickly as possible”, the president added.

But Kwesi Pratt Jnr is of a strong opinion that the government is not treating the issue with the required seriousness.

“I’ve seen the Police situation report. Twenty-four (24) hours before the incident, the Police report indicated that these things were going to happen. According to the report we have, the attacks took place around 1:30 am. The security agencies got on the ground at 12 noon. What is happening?

“Take a look at the number of Ministers responsible for security; we can count about four or five (5). When you add the Defence Minister, it’s about five and all this can still go on. What are you telling us? Do you think we’re children or what? All this happening with all this security architecture, why?” he questioned.

He revealed that the government knew about the plans of the secessionist group beforehand but stood aloof for it to happen.

“Government knows; the security knows who they are, where they are. What is happening? Somebody must be telling us something sensible.”

He also wondered why the President has not taken drastic actions against the group.

“One of the duties of the President is that he signs death warrant…You have a huge responsibility when we hand over the reins of the country to you…Is everything we do in government good? Is espionage a good thing? Is war a good thing? Governments declare war; people die and so on. The litmus test is whether or not the actions being taken by the government are in the national interest or they’re not in the national interest”, he said on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’.