Dr. Obed Asamoah
Veteran lawyer/politician who was also Attorney General during the Rawlings administration, Dr. Obed Asamoah, has taken a swipe at those calling for a coup in the country.
Describing the call as childish, he said that those making the calls have no idea about what they are calling for.
Speaking during an interview, he added that soldiers who overthrow a constitutionally elected government will always revenge against persons they had bone to pick with.
If for example, he said, someone was fighting with a military officer over a woman, that person will be targeted if there is a coup and be eliminated.
“These fix Ghana elements, some of them are openly calling for military takeover. Those people are childish. When coup happens the power that is wielded by the soldiers immediately after the coup is not discriminatory, they look at it in personal terms.
“If for example you have crossed some military officer in traffic and he is annoyed with you, he is coming to shoot you in the confusion of the revolution.
“Or maybe, you have been fighting with him over some girlfriend, in the confusion he will shoot you. So the consequences can be non-discriminatory, they can affect the very people who are asking for that,” he said.
In a related development, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, counselled the coup wishers to feel free to differ on policies but should avoid undermining the country’s democracy.
He was responding to comments by the Dean of the University of Ghana Law School, Professor Raymond Atuguba, whose recent remarks on the subject has attracted opprobrium.
The minister said that while the administration has no problem with people expressing divergent views on policies and national developments, it abhors attempts by some to lace their commentary with anti-democratic comments and insinuations that undermine our democracy.
“Comments to the effect that some conditions are rife for a coup are most unfortunate and disappointing. They are disappointing because despite COVID-19, Ghana’s current economic status is far better than the days of previous administration when there was no global pandemic.”