The government has appointed Major General Thomas Oppong Peprah as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces.
In recent times there was so much brouhaha which painted your image and your sterling track records as disciplinarian as threat to the peace and stability of Ghana going into 2024 General Election.
Despite the intelligence gathered in your domain indicated that you are among the finest military officers loved by the rank and file in the Ghana Armed Forces due to your neutrality, affability, problem solving skills and your determination to ensure things are done right without bias.
In fact, going forward anyone who has insight into information in your domain of work knows that your appointment is 80% based on merit and not strictly partisan.
Throughout your military career as an officer, you have demonstrated a spirit of neutrality in your profession and had strived for the best among soldiers, and most suprisely among the defence civilian staff.
In another development it behooves on you this time round to prove to the 32 million Ghanaians that you are never a threat to the peace and stability of your beloved country, Ghana, most importantly in the comings December 7 general election, as alleged in the media space that your appointment is to unleash mayhem on Ghanaians.
Let your regime of leadership be keen to hold on to the existing positive peace we are enjoying as a country by admonishing your men and women to make the interests of the 32 million Ghanaians as priority to their individual interests which as a result can put Ghana at the risk of negative peace.
According to the release, it is imperative to draw to your attention that the very people who tried to tarnish your image are within your own domain and are watching you to fail, so they can say, we said it.
It is my sincere hope that not a single blood of a Ghanaian will be shared in your regime as CDS in any internal security operation involved by your troops.
It is imperative that, Bawku Conflict urgently needs a holistic base approach rather than the one-way military base approach, which, as a result, has cause the life of innocent Ghanaians living in the area.
Though I might not be privy to the detail threat profile that might have triggered the current clash, the few intelligence gathered indicates that the people in the area have lost trust in your current troop’s detachment.
I am of the view, that it will be wise to redraw them and adopt joint problem solving approach in ensuring proper policies and measures to manage the country’s vulnerabilities which give opportunities to the threat of proliferation of illicit small arms, light and sophisticated weapons in the country that has fall in the hand of this horror individuals.
AYM Kukah/Anthony Acquaye, PhD (s) Security Policy Expert, Centre for Security Dialogue, and Peace Advocacy (CSDPA)
