Is Ghana's Position On The Ivory Coast Crisis Shortsighted And Cowardly?

Apparently, the safety of Ghanaian expatriates in the Ivory Coast is what informs Ghana's "dzi wu fia asem" policy - in refusing to support any military intervention to remove former President Gbagbo from power.

How will that possibly save Ghanaian expatriates there, when a wave of xenophobia finally sweeps across the Ivory Coast, as it inevitably will, remains unclear.

Perhaps the question we must ask is whether or not the Mills regime should revise its notes quickly - as many Ghanaians will end up becoming victims, when the hotheads on both sides target foreigners, once they resort to armed conflict again: in an attempt to bring a final resolution to the current iimpasse

It is difficult to understand why Ghana did not simply opt to say that whiles nothing could be ruled in or ruled out (as regards the AU and the ECOWAS pronouncements on the Ivorian crisis, including using force to remove Gbagbo), it was of the view that military intervention ought to be a last-resort measure – and should be undertaken only in order to prevent widespread violence and the wholesale abuse of human rights.

It could then have gone on to suggest that an effective option might be to start with a naval and air blockade, so as to prevent arms from reaching the military forces of both sides.

Behind the scenes, it could have - as it tried to mediate between the two sides as an honest broker -  reminded all the Ivorian leaders that ultimately, the international community would hold them personally responsible, for any large-scale atrocities committed by the violence-prone amongst their supporters.

For good measure, perhaps the government of Ghana must also make it clear to all of them that the AU and ECOWAS could be forced, if there was overwhelming public opinion across the continent for such a measure (as a result of widespread revulsion at any atrocities and ethnic-cleansing occurring in the Ivory Coast), to deliver such Ivorian leaders to the International Criminal Court (ICC) eventually.

Above all, the time has come for it to be made absolutely clear to all Africa's politicians that no tribe on our continent can be said to be inferior or superior to another African tribe. All African life is of equal value – and fellow Africans regarded as "foreign settlers" in AU member-nations, are only continuing an ancient African tradition.

We are all descended from Africans who migrated from one part of the continent or the other in ancient times, to the nations we hail from today.

The northerners of the Ivory Coast are full and equal citizens of that nation, wherever their forebears originated from - and have as much a right to lead that nation, as do the southerners, who have dominated that nation since it gained independence from France.

The southern elite must stop thinking that they are superior to the northerners. That is backward and absurd in 21st century Africa - and Nkrumah's Ghana must make that point strongly to Gbagbo & Co. Surely, ten consecutive years is long enough a period, for any one set of leaders to be in power continuously, for, in any nation on the planet Earth, dear reader?

The fact of the matter, is that the verdict of a majority of Ivorian voters, is that Gbagbo & Co must depart from office – and outsiders saying so are not, by any stretch of the imagination, choosing a leader for the Ivory Coast.

We must not think that appeasing undemocratic leaders amounts to pragmatism. Such leaders make very dangerous neighbours – and must never be humoured: lest they mistake that for cowardice.

Ghana must be polite but firm with Gbagbo, in all her closed-door meetings with him – and make it absolutely clear to him that ultimately his position is quite simply untenable.

For those who say Quatterah is a stooge for the West, and count that against him, the answer is simple: he will be found out soon enough if that indeed is the case - and turfed out of office in the next presidential election, if his regime serves foreign interests during its tenure, instead of ensuring the well-being of all Ivorians and their nation.

With respect, Ghana's position on the Ivory Coast crisis is short-sighted and cowardly. We must not close our eyes to such glaring injustice, and blatant stealing of an election, and say that it is none of our business.

The crisis in the Ivory Coast ought to be of concern to all Ghanaians - for the two countries are sister African nations who share a common border: and have ethnic groups that straddle that common border.

Injustice and suffering in any nation in Africa, is very much Ghana's business. A policy of appeasement, when confronted with belligerent and undemocratic leaders on your doorstep, is dangerous and shortsighted – particularly if the objective is to foster long-lasting peace between neighbouring states.