A lively debate unfolded on Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV, as veteran journalists Kwesi Pratt Jnr., Managing Editor of The Insight newspaper, and Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr., Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, shared conflicting views on the wave of military takeovers sweeping across Africa.
The conversation delved into the broader implications of these events and their resonance with the public.
Kwesi Pratt highlighted the enthusiastic reception Burkina Faso’s interim leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, received at the Black Star Square during Ghana’s Independence Day celebrations.
“Something very significant happened at the Black Star Square. The Head of State who had the largest applause, and the most emphatic display of public enthusiasm, was Ibrahim Traoré,” he remarked. “That should say something. The public endorsement, as far as I’m concerned, is telling.”
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However, Kweku Baako remained unimpressed by the symbolism of the applause, expressing his reservations about leaders who emerge through military takeovers.
“We have seen it all before. I am very cynical and skeptical about these characters,” he countered, casting doubt on the sustainability of such regimes.
Pratt pushed back, emphasizing the significance of the public’s response. “For the moment yesterday, all the so-called democratically elected leaders did not get the kind of endorsement Ibrahim Traoré got at Independence Square. That is a statement,” he asserted.
Baako questioned the basis of the endorsement, asking, “What was the Ghanaian community, who were the majority at the place, endorsing?”
Pratt was quick to provide an answer, framing the applause as a rejection of neo-colonialism and foreign exploitation.
“They were endorsing the struggle against neo-colonialism. They were endorsing a struggle for African people to take hold of their resources and exploit them for their own benefit.
They were endorsing a regime that is saying no to foreign military bases on African soil,” he argued passionately.
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He further underscored his belief that democracy should yield tangible benefits for the people. “Democracy must yield something that people want,” Pratt stated, adding that the rising popularity of figures like Traoré reflects public dissatisfaction with traditional democratic systems that fail to meet their expectations.
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