The Executive Director of the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), Dr Chukwuemeka B. Eze, has called on Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to speak up on happenings in Nigeria and assure the Nigerian people of the measures ECOWAS is putting in place to deal with the upheaval.
Reports say protestors had been killed in Lagos on Tuesday night, scaling up not just the disaffection against the Nigeria government but the silence of Ghana’s president who is also president of the West Africa sub-regional body ECOWAS.
Dr Eze told journalists on Wednesday, October 21 that “The Ghanaian president is the current Chair of ECOWAS so I’ll be shocked if he’s not engaging behind the scenes.”
He added “but a public statement that shows the people of Nigeria that they are not alone should have gone out by now while the diplomacy continues. A public statement will provide reassurance and tell the Nigerian people that they are not alone in this”.
Several other Nigerians and Ghanaians including high profile musicians, broadcasters and actors have also taken to Twitter to express their misgivings over Mr Akufo-Addo’s long silence on the issues happening in the oil-producing West African nation.
Mr Abraham Amaliba, a private legal practitioner and Member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said the long silence of Mr Akufo-Addo is disturbing.
Speaking on this development on TV3’s New Day programme on Wednesday, October 21 with Johnnie Hughes, Mr Amaliba noted that Mr Akufo-Addo has been too relaxed on this matter.
He said the President should have by now issued a statement on the happenings.
“This president has been sleeping a lot on national and international issues. He should have spoken by now,” Mr Amaliba said.
He further stated that “Ghana will need to take a cue from this. As politicians, we need to ensure that what is happening in Nigeria does not happen.
“We need to take care of the welfare and the needs of the people. Akufo-addo is taking care of the welfare and needs of only the people of his ethnic clan.
“We have never seen in this country before where a president has appointed over 50 people close to him into office. That angers people. These are some of the things that we need to avoid.
“The president as ECOWAS by now should be speaking, by now should be engaging with his counterpart in Nigeria.”
Source; Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana
