Ghana Needs To Dangle the Carrot; And Take Lead Whip On Ivory Coast Part I

Gbagbo and Ouattara ...We need this

Leaders in Ivory Coast were also expected in Ghana

Eleven years ago today Saturday Christmas day, December 25 1999, soldiers led by Sergeant Ibrahim Coulibally riding on a wave of popular discontent with the Ivorian government resorted to the usual gun toting solution to changing governments in Africa. Ivory Coast President Conan Bedie, was overthrown in that country’s first coupe d’état and he fled to France.

Dial the history to Friday December 31st 1999 and the main story was still the millennium bug; the fear that computer clocks would reset to zero and there would be chaos. Off course nothing happened.

That Friday New Year’s Eve night was packed with activities as representatives of the Christmas coup leaders in Ivory Coast were also expected in Ghana to explain their agenda if they had any. Where else do you go but to the most successful coup maker in Africa who happens to be you neighbor to explain yourself? At the same time there was high alert for the millennium bug and tests were being run in every sector establishment that affected everyday life, Akosombo Dam, hospitals, power plants, Kotoka Airport.

An invite to take the Flying Coffin

If you could brave it there was an invite to take the Flying Coffin, Ghana’s old presidential jet the old Fokker 28 on a spin in the skies over Accra to see if any digital equipment on board or at the airport control would reset at 12 midnight and what would happen if a “zero” indeed occurred.

Ghana saw year 2000 without issue but the revelation of the night was by President Rawlings in an informal talk with journalist. The actual location and specific time of what he said is still hazy but his words were revealing and still clear. President Rawlings talking candidly to journalist. Revealed that before the coup, they had intelligent information about rumblings in Ivory Coast and contacted Bedie and asked if things were alright and he said yes. Again we contacted President Bedie and said look we are hearing things and it is credible do, we can help do you need help. Bedie said he was alright” therein lies part of the solution to wielding a whip if need be against Laurent Gbagbo now.

UN could intervene using military force but lacks legitimacy

But first it must be made clear why Ghana and not other entities or countries that have better organizational capacity and resources to wield power against Laurent Gbagbo and his tyrannical forces in Ivory Coast.

The UN could intervene using military force but lacks legitimacy due to the nature of its mandate in Ivory Coast.
The only other power with the capacity and a duty behind it as an underwriter of democracy and freedom is the United States but with its history of Anglo-Saxon led white supremacist Judeo-Christian foreign policy; any good intentions even with a black president could be looked with suspicion by black Africa.

Add that horrible image of the bodies of American soldiers being dragged in the streets of Mogadishu; bitter lesson that culminated in President Clinton deciding not to intervene when black Africans were killing black Africans because of tribal differences. About 800 thousand people were mass murdered in that genocide, according to the UN. Indeed the US did virtually nada in its former colony Liberia, Ivory Coast’s neighbor when that country degenerated into civil war. There is no US interest so rule out President Obama ever intervening in Ivory Coast with force.

That leaves only one country, Ghana

Ivory Coast’s former colonial master, France is even in a more undignifying position regarding its former colony just for that despicable role of mistreating black people from Africa to the Caribbean. France has looked out mainly for its interest in such situations with its former colonies and has sponsored and encouraged coups in former colonies in Africa, the pacific and Caribbean; remember that infamous bastard Colonel Bob Denard the dreaded mercenary?

One could not even begin mentioning ECOWAS without looking at the legitimacy and semi legitimacy status of most of its leaders. That leaves only one country, Ghana to take bold and defining steps in Ivory Coast.