Dominic Nitiwul, the outgoing Defense Minister, is reported to have said that the government of Akufo-Addo should not be held responsible for the security lapses that occurred during the 2024 general elections. Rather, the Minister asserted that the IGP should be held responsible.
Clearly, Dominic Nitiwul has exposed himself as an ignoramus who unfortunately, headed our revered ministry of defense.
Undoubtedly, the security of the state is the responsibility of the government. The government of the day, takes responsibility for protecting the state and its citizens from internal and external threats. In addition, the government is responsible for maintainance of law and order, as well as the safety and security of its citizens. Therefore, it can only take a minister of defense with political vigilante mentality, to come to such conclusion. In view of this, a number of questions arise:
- How did soldiers end up deployed in almost all constituencies in Ghana?
- How did soldiers end up patrolling streets, at the polling and collation centres?
- How did soldiers end up at Detective Training School at Depot in Accra to provide security for re-collation?
- Is it the case that Dominic Nitiwul could not help his party achieve the 2020 Techiman-South strategy hence disassociating himself from the general security lapses?
It’s common knowledge that the reputation and integrity of our revered Armed Forces have been dented under your leadership. The deployment of the military at Ejura leading to two deaths, in Techiman South leading to eight deaths, at Ashaiman leading to deaths and massive injuries, and the unarranted and irresponsible military deployments during the 2024 general elections leading to eightt deaths, injuries and unnecessary clashes between the military and members of the public, are just few legacies that you’re leaving behind. THESE INCIDENTS ARE TESTIMONY OF YOUR POLITICAL VIGILANTE MENTALITY AND COMPLETE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE MANDATE OF THE MINISTRY YOU MISLED FOR EIGHT YEARS. YOU ARE INDEED A PERSONIFICATION OF A SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE. NEVER AGAIN, SHOULD WE HAVE SUCH AN IGNORAMUS, HEADING OUR REVERED MINISTRY OF DEFENSE.
ACP (Rtd) Dr Benjamin Agordzo
