Will Nitiwul Be Able To Carry The Body Bags Of Dead Ghanaian Soldiers?
When we heard the Defense Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, talk last week at the opening of a two-day meeting of ECOWAS military chiefs in relation to the Niger situation (not a crisis), we were very sure the Minister is not fully aware of what he is talking about.
When the Minister talks about activating the full force of military action in Niger, does he really know the full implications?
What will be happening in Niger if ECOWAS goes in with military force, will be engaging in WAR and not peacekeeping.
There is a world of difference between peacekeeping and WAR - and it is the WAR factor that is making Ghanaians speak up loudly against any such rush decision.
So far, it is pretty obvious that the voice of Ghanaians is wholly against committing our troops to any death trap in Niger.
The fact is that, if Ghanaian troops are sent to war in Niger, Dominic Nitiwul would have to prepare to be receiving scores of dead body bags because, there would be massive deaths.
Indeed, the body bags that Nitiwul would be receiving may be less than the actual dead bodies because many would not be found.
As a Defense Minister, can Nitiwul face the wrath of grieving, wives, children and families of the dead soldiers? How many families would Nitiwul be able to control and console?
How many burial services would Nitiwul be able to attend?
Especially for those bodies that would not come back for families to pay their last respects; how would Nitiwul be able to explain it?
How much would the Government be able to pay as compensation to the grieving families?
Maybe the Defense Minister is forgetting that the soldiers are also human beings who have lives to live and not just ready to die senseless deaths.
In as much as we are not condoning the situation in Niger, we also do not believe that innocent Ghanaian soldiers should be sent to Niger to go and die useless deaths.
We have our ears to the ground and we know that the Ghanaian soldiers are not ready to go to war in Niger.
Ghanaian soldiers are ready to fight for the territorial integrity of Ghana but to the extent that what is happening in Niger does not directly affect the sovereignty of Ghana, our soldiers are not ready o leave their families orphaned.
We believe that if Dominic Nitiwul reassesses his current mindset, he will realise that sending our soldiers out to Niger to go and die would have dire consequences for us all.
Let us tread cautiously before regretting wasting the lives of our precious soldiers.
<<Print>>