Barbaric onslaught from jihadists, terrorists shouldn't be justification for coups

Deputy Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin has stressed that never should any country on the African continent choose a coup d'état over democracy.

Africa, particularly the West African region in recent years has experienced coups which saw democratically elected governments overthrown.

In some cases, the military behind the coups has argued that it was necessary due to the failure of the government to deal with insurgencies that threaten the safety of citizens.

According to Afenyo-Markin, the barbaric onslaught from jihadists and terrorists should not be justification for a coup in any African country.

“Yet, it is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge another glaring crisis that tears at the fabric of our communities - the barbaric onslaught from jihadists and terrorists. With their crude weapons of horror, they continue to bring death and despair to many parts of West Africa. But we must staunchly assert that these activities should in no way provide a justification for military coups to overthrow democratically elected regimes,” Alexander Afenyo-Markin stressed.

He was delivering a speech as Leader of Ghana's Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, at the University of Education, Winneba, at the Opening Ceremony of the High-Level Interactive Seminar and the Extraordinary Session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament on Friday, September 29.

The Member of Parliament for Effutu Constituency argued that there is the need to fervently insist that the answer to these acts of terror lies within democratic institutions, standing as bastions of hope and fortitude amidst the turmoil.

He said West Africa stands at a juncture where the road it chooses will dictate the future of the great region.

Alexander Afenyo-Markin in his address stressed that all the coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Chad, and Gabon must be condemned.

“The recent resurgence of military coups threatens to drag us back to an era we have fought tirelessly to transcend. We must firmly CONDEMN the coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Chad, and Gabon, along with the hostilities in Sudan. These actions are a betrayal of the democratic principles we hold dear, and we demand a swift return to constitutional rule. We must affirm, unequivocally, that regression is not the solution. Our golden age lies ahead of us, not in the shadows of the 1960s to 1980s,” Alexander Afenyo-Markin emphasised..

Barbaric onslaught from jihadists, terrorists shouldn't be justification for coups – Afenyo-Markin