National Commission for Civic Education urge African leaders to address root causes of coups

Mr. Samuel Asare Akuamoah, Deputy Chair in charge of Operations at the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has called on African leaders to engage in a comprehensive examination of their governance in order to reduce the occurrence of coup d'états on the continent.

He emphasized that this introspection is vital to uncover the underlying reasons behind the frequent coups and work towards solutions.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after a visit from an eight-member delegation of the Namibian African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Mr. Akuamoah emphasized the importance of understanding the root causes of coup d'états.

The Namibian delegation, led by Mr. Lineekela J. Mboti, Chief Executive Officer of Namibian APRM, visited to study how the NCCE carries out its civic education mandate.

Mr. Akuamoah expressed deep concern over the persistence of coups on the continent, especially considering the efforts made to promote democratic principles.

He stated, “We have encountered coups in the sub-region and at the point that we think that we have closed the chapter on one, and another one happens again.”

Referring to the recent coup in Niger where the elected President was ousted and the constitution suspended, Mr. Akuamoah stressed the need for leaders to be accountable to the mandates given by their people. He suggested that being accountable for these mandates could help mitigate challenges and stabilize nations.

Mr. Akuamoah, a member of the APRM Governing Board, called for calm among conflicting factions and regional bodies such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, in order to prevent conflicts from spreading.

He noted the concerns about violent extremist groups destabilizing the region and highlighted Ghana's efforts to educate communities about the presence of such groups to prevent potential attacks.

Mr. Mboti, leader of the Namibian Delegation, urged democratically elected African leaders to enhance governance practices to prevent coup d'états. He expressed regret that Africa had not met the goal to “silence the gun” by 2020 and warned against allowing the West African situation to set a negative precedent for the rest of the continent.

He emphasized the need to protect vulnerable populations, saying, “At the end of the day, it's women and children that suffer and we have gone through that, and we do not want to go back.”