Coup d’état in Ghana will be difficult, but we’re not immune – Dr. Suleiman

The Founder of the Centre for Alternative Politics and Security West Africa (CAPS-WA), Dr. Muhammad Dan Suleiman, has asserted that Ghana is not immune to a coup d’état.

However, Dr. Suleiman, speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, stated that it would be difficult for a coup to take place in Ghana.

He pointed out that there are three factors that trigger coups in every country, and once these signals are clear, it is important for relevant stakeholders, particularly the government, to be on alert.

“The citizens must be aggrieved and concerned about events in the country, there must be someone with political influence to lead the charge, and there must be support from the people. Otherwise, no one will want to waste time starting a coup,” he stated.

Citing events in neighboring and other African countries, Dr. Suleiman urged the government to take cues from them.

He added that democracy in many of these countries has not delivered the dividends that the people expected, which poses a threat to governance.

“A few years before the coup occurred in Mali, it was considered one of the more stable democracies, but that did not prevent the insurgency in 2012/13.”

“When coups started in Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger was also touted as the bulwark of democracy, but it later experienced a coup as well. Ghana is relatively peaceful compared to these countries, but coups in these countries did not occur solely at the will of the people; circumstances played a role. So, if we are experiencing similar situations, we must be careful,” he admonished.