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

100 thousand tons of diplomacy, USS George Bush

A prosperous Ivory Coast is in the best interest of Ghana

A prosperous Ivory Coast is in the best interest of Ghana and black Africa and that is no secret. These two countries which once had GDP’s higher than China, Korea and Malaysia have the capacity to uplift black Africa and lead a forever oppressed people into democracy, freedom and prosperity.

Ghana remains the most peaceful immediate neighbor of Ivory Coast with a fledgling economy and peaceful civil society; having one of the few legitimate civilian governments in the region. Then there is the new found treasure, oil. It is no secret also that Ghana’s progress would be negated if a full blown civil war reignites in Ivory Coast and that area could go up in flames.

Gbagbo appears to be defiantly entrenching himself an power and worse still, could turn to rogue leaders for support. Soon enough, have Iran’s Ahmedinejan, Venezuela’s Chavez and Zimbabwe’s Mugabe make courtesy calls to shake feathers together.

First, President Attah-Mills should resist the temptation of allowing Ghana to succumb fully to the concept of alienation of black people ghettoized through racism and slavery. That is, a situation where families and societies separated by invisible demarcations called borders and different languages assigned to them as national languages compels Ghana into a policy of regarding; black people fleeing Ivory Coast as Ivorian refugees and treating them as aliens. We are the same people and this approach is important for any move in Ivory Coast
Wield the whip

Wield the whip on Gbagbo now and tell the African power monger he is no more welcome in Ghana. Any country that would do business with Gbagbo’s Ivory Coast and not Ouattarra’s Ivory Coast is also against Ghana. This extends to his wife and Maybach driving kids and extended family. Yes, Laurent Gbagbo’s kids who live in the state of Georgia “in college” drive expensive cars including one that costs half a million dollars; the Maybach. No foreign dignitary or personal visitor to Gbagbo has permission to access Ghana’s skies, territorial waters or overland.

Ghana’s military and foreign intelligence have built a good reputation for delivering and it is their time now in al these. Former security chief, Kojo Tsikata a.k.a Gbagbladza is back in town we hear. Ask how he helped establish a secure foundation for John to stay in power for that long and handed over to John who handed over to John who may well be handing over to John in 2016.

That disclosure by President Rawlings about Ghana’s in advance knowledge of the 1999 coup showed Ghana’s capacity to infiltrate the Ivorian military to recruit dissenters in the rank and file and among the officers and ask them to standby when the time came. There are those good people in every establishment that have their conscience more intact than others and would do the right thing even when threatened. Ghana’s military intelligence sure has the upbeat on these in the Ivorian military

A directive to General Officer Commanding,

Right now the Ivorian military especially those behind Gbagbo are feeling the unease and anyway out offered without bloodshed would be attractive to them.

Let us assume a bird whispered a directive to General Officer Commanding, Southern Command, Brigadier General Adinkrah, to head a plan to mobilize along with the Western Naval Command and Ghana Airforce. Rapid mobilization could be completed within a week.

Coordination with UN peace force in Abidjan is a given and if Brigadier General Adinkrah wants to give impetus to the mission, he would contact General “Kip” Ward commander of US Africa Command to request the ultimate show of force, a full 100 thousand tons of majestic steel diplomacy a.k.a aircraft carrier for support.

President Obama and Defence Secretary Robert Gates should have no problem approving this. The aircraft carrier, USS George W. Bush is battle ready and has seen little action but with proper request, it should reach Ivorian Waters from Norfolk in time not to engage in combat but as the ultimate show of force; in association with GNS Achimota and GNS Azone.

One Ghana air force jet on the ready to for a low flying sortie in Abidjan should crown the effort

With Ghanaian Special Forces already in place

The whip needs to have all the characteristics of a bluff just to make Gbagbo see the harm he could cause himself and his loved ones. Conversely, should Gbagbo be unwise as to call it a bluff, the whisper in Brigadier General Adinkrah’s ear; “it is a go.” lets face it, one could not prepare such a force without the intention of using it.

If a total warfare strategy instead of battlefield tactics were applied, it is possible to have former Ghana General Officer Commanding General "Buffalo soldier" Quainoo, ’s famous words “if I send 2000 men out, I want to bring two thousand men back home alive” come true. The fear of torture alone is usually enough to elicit information from a subject so a massive show of force plus a psychological warfare in addition to a limited indirect or direct engagement should strike fear into the poorly equipped Ivorian military or the fool hardies loyal to Gbagbo to surrender. Talk about eliciting shock and awe

With Ghanaian Special Forces already in place in Ivory Coast, it should be easy to seize strategic radio stations and main TV stations to synchronize a broadcast from Ouatarra urging the Ivorian military to stand down and all positions and rank would be maintained for now.
Jam and or cut off communications between the presidential palace and the loyal troops
Lay siege to the presidential palace and cutting off supplies, power etc

Take out the Carrot

As the whip or stick is being wielded, take out the carrot and dangle it before Gbagbo. President Outtara has already offered positions to some of Gbagbo’s Ministers as incentive and at least one country has offered a safe haven for Gbagbo and those are good.

Ghana could impress on Ouatarra not to prosecute Gbagbo

Gbagbo can participate in the political process of Ivory Coast again in the next election cycle

Provide safe passage for Gbagbo and family

Gbagbo needs to be given the opportunity to leave in dignity and retain his statesmanship by addressing parliament and the nation before leaving

Support Gbagbo to gain a job as a visiting professor in a reputable college; position in ECOWAS or AU. He could work at the Kofi Annan centre or a regional or sub-regional business project like Africa 1 or WAGP

Maintain communication with Gbagbo and ready a chopper to airlift him and his family; or provide a plane and guarantee his safe flight from Abidjan.

The foundations of conflict resolution

Snap back to reality and these are just wild imaginations of VooDoo Child. Still, in using force and or threatening to use it, the foundations of conflict resolution must be the main approach. This means Gbagbo must be afforded the full respect and opportunity to regain his statesmanship and exit in dignity and honor.

Every step beginning from reaching out to him to applying force on him are all conflict resolution steps but the most important part of these steps are the first peaceful approaches. The wise usually accept to talk and keep communication lines open.

Regarding and acknowledging Gbagbo’s contribution towards Ivory Coast’s political processes and the fact that he never benefited from long periods of stability to manifest fully his capabilities would help.

Yet, all these could only come to fruition if President Allasane Ouattara of Ivory Coast approves otherwise, Ghana should stay clear and or proceed with extreme caution