Ethnocentricism In Our Community

Recent promotions and appointments in the Ghana Armed Forces in particular and other security services in general continue to confirm that the Symbiotic Partnership of Ewes and Northerners (SPEN) have taken over.

Consequently, a lion’s share of all appointments and promotions, especially the strategic and tactical ones have been given to them. That explains why Major General Sampson Adeti (my friend) is parading round like the de facto Chief of Defence Staff. As a matter of fact, he is the most powerful military officer in the Ghana Armed Forces today usurping the powers of the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of Defence Staff.

Most seasoned military officers and military analysts have likened him to General Arnold Quainoo- the Buffalo Soldier. These experts say that my friend is behaving in much the same way as General Quainoo when he was the Force Commander of the Ghana Armed Forces thereby combining the positions of Army Commander and Chief of Defence Staff effectively.

In the days of General Quainoo, the other Service Commanders were cowed into submission and thus enabling General Quainoo to have a field day to run the affairs of the Ghana Armed Forces as he wished.

In those days, General Quainoo was a member of the ruling Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) and thus a politician as well. General Quainoo was part of the two major Arms of Government, the Executive and the legislature as the PNDC had both – Executive and legislative powers of Ghana vested in it by virtue of the PNDC Establishment and Proclamation laws which suspended the Third Republican Constitution of 1979 and the government of Dr. Hilla Limann.

IN THE SCHEME OF AFFAIRS TODAY, MY FRIEND HAS REPLACED GENERAL QUAINOO. HE IS THE MAN TO BE FEARED BOTH IN THE ARMED FORCES AND THE RULING NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS. AS A MEMBER OF THE NDC, MY FRIEND FEARS NOBODY AND HAS MILITARY AND EXECUTIVE POWERS. HE IS SAID TO BE BEST BET OF PRESIDENT RAWLINGS AND SOME MINISTERS WHO RELY ON HIM FOR LAND-GUARD DUTIES AND SPECIAL OPERATIONS ON LANDS FOR ILLEGAL MINING AND EVEN PROTECTION AT PLUSH ESTATES IN THE CAPITAL.

No appointment or promotion can be made in the Ghana Armed Forces without his input, consent and/or approval. He is currently fine-tuning all the strategic and tactical appointments in the Ghana Armed Forces to ensure victory for our leader in the 2016 elections. But for “SPEN”, all the key strategic and tactical appointments in the military were to go to Ewes on his proposals.

Thankfully, some realists saw the danger and political suicide inherent in my friend’s proposal and called for some moderation. Even with the moderation, the results are as follows as far as some Commanding Officers in the Ghana Army are concerned:

1BATTALION, MICHEL CAMP, TEMA – LT COL ALBERT SISIN OGAJA (GH/2694)-EWE, 2 BATTALION, TAKORADI- LT COL GEORGE NOBLE KWAKU HOENYEDZI (GH/2804)- EWE,  3 BATTALION, SUNYANI- LT COL EDWARD AWANBEY (GH/2712)- NORTHERNER, 4 BATTALION, KUMASI- LT COL IBRAHIM ABUKARI SALIFU (GH/2810)- NORTHERNER, 5 BATTALION, BURMA CAMP, ACCRA- LT COL TIMOTHY TIFUORO BA-TAA-BANAH (GH/2699)- NORTHERNER, 6 BATTALION, TAMALE- LT COL WILLIAM ADARKWA KWABIA (GH/2753)- AKAN, AIRBONE FORCE, TAMALE- LT COL JOSEPH MALIK PUNAMANE (GH/2513)- NORTHERNER, 66 ARTILLERY REGIMENT, HO- LT COL JOHN ISHMAEL YAO BOGLO (GH/2701)- EWE, 64 INFANTRY REGIMENT, BURMA CAMP, ACCRA- LT COL JOHN DANSO-ANKRAH (GH/2803)-AKAN, RECCE REGIMENT, BURMA CAMP, ACCRA-LT COL WILLIAM NII NORTEY (GH/2758)-GA, 48 ENGINEER REGIMENT, TESHIE, ACCRA – LT COL RICHARD AGBEKO KINNEY (GH/2704)- EWE, 49 ENGINEER REGIMENT, BURMA CAMP, ACCRA-LT COL ABEDNEGO ECLAIRCIE SHOOTER (GH/2823)-EWE, DEFENCE MT BATTALION, BURMA CAMP, ACCRA- LT COL BESSA KWAO ADOTEY (GH/2752)- GA, BASE SUPPLY DEPOT, BURMA CAMP, ACCRA – LT COL FUSEINI ABDULAI NANTOGMA (GH/2828)- NORTHERNER AND FORCES PAY REGIMENT, BURMA CAMP, ACCRA-COLONEL SAMPANA BABILAH (GH/2340)-NORTHERNER 

In addition to these appointments, my friend is reported to have insisted on the appointment of a retired Warrant Officer (Ex CWO) Barker (an Ewe) as the Forces Sergeant Major (FSM). This appointment is extremely important. The holder of the FSM appointment becomes the senior-most Other Rank (Senior Non-Commissioned Officer) in the Armed Forces. Additionally, the Forces Sergeant Major is a member of the Armed Forces Council. 

As a member of the Armed Forces Council, the Forces Sergeant Major (though not a commissioned officer) is part of the decision making body that decides on promotions and appointments of senior military officers, colonels and above their equivalents in the Navy and Airforce.

That explains why my friend is insisting on the recall of a retired “Nyebro Soldier” to the office of Forces Sergeant Major and not the elevation of any of the serving Service or Formation Sergeant Majors to that enviable position. With that appointment, my and his brother Forces Sergeant Major will recommend the next Service and Formation Sergeant Majors.

A careful analysis of the list of Commanding Officers will show that my friend is indeed battle ready to ensure victory for our party in the December 2016 elections. For instance, the Commanding Officers for Takoradi (Western Region) and Ho (Volta Region) are all tribesmen of my friend. These no nonsense officers are to facilitate the in-and-out flow of non-Ghanaians resident in the Ivory Coast and Togo (Benin, Nigeria) through the Western and Eastern corridors respectively to vote in the elections.

Additionally, these officers are to ensure rigging in the Western and Volta Regions to give the NDC victory at all cost. Already, Commanding Officer 2 Battalion has withdrawn all military personnel on Task Force duties at the Ghana-Ivory Coast Border. The withdrawal took place just before the Limited Registration Exercise and continued during the Exhibition of Voter’s Register Exercise of the Electoral Commission. This same Commanding Officer was made the head of a Special Task Force that was sent from Accra by my friend to the Western Region during the last bye-election following the death of a Member of Parliament. The NDC retained the seat. 

This Special Task Force operated in the Area of Operation of 2 Battalion without the consent of then Commanding Officer who was an Akan and therefore not trusted by my #guyguy friend.

With Lt Col George Noble Kwaku Hoenyedzi at Apremdo, Tarkoradi, my friend is happy and sure of victory for the NDC in the Western Region.

Similarly, the positioning of Lt Col John Ishmael Yao Boglo at Ho, in charge of 66 Artillery Regiment, makes my friend extremely comfortable and sure of the Volta votes in exponential numbers for the NDC. 

With Lt Col Albert Sisin Ogaja at 1 Battalion with responsibility for the Eastern Region where the dream of Agenda 50-50 is to be realized, my friend is tactically in control of affairs with General Musah Whajah, an Nzema royal, as the GOC for Southern Command of the Ghana Army, the NDC is battle ready for the votes in Southern Ghana comprising of the Volta, Eastern, Greater Accra, Central and Western regions. 

General Musah Whajah has been an ardent member of the NDC since the days that he was an Other Rank. As a product of the Junior Leaders Company, (popularly called Boys’ company), General Whajah was an active member of the military CDR during the era of the PNDC. He held several key positions as an Other Rank and Officer. For instance, for several years, General Whajah was in charge of security at Tema Port and Harbour.

With General Peter Augustine Blay as his protégé, General Whajah has survived several storms including the latest from my friend. Anyways, my friend has not forgiven General Whajah for exposing him in the Bank of Ghana vehicle Saga. We (my friend and I) were hoping that General Musah Whajah would cover us but hell no; he gave us away like how Jesus was sold by Judas. If Musah was man enough, he should have issued a counter order to Commanding Officers under him to attend the handing over ceremony of the former Chief of Army Staff but smartly, he kept quite.

Musah we know is very powerful. The gods and juju from Benin (formerly Dahomey) have been consulted and used to silenced ‘some’ but Musah has proved very stubborn and the stubborn “ranger” is still alive but walking with difficulty.

The story in the Northern Sector of Ghana Army is not very different from the Southern Sector. The Central and Northern Commands of the Ghana Army are headed by a Northerner and an Ewe respectively in view of the “SPEN” strategy. 

With Brigadier General Cosmas Bretu Alhassan (a Northerner) as the GOC Central Command and based in Kumasi, Lieutenant Colonels Ibrahim Abukari Salifu and Edward Awanbey (Northerners) are to give him covering fire to subdue the opposition NPP in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions respectively.

Brigadier General Stanley Brian Alloh (an Ewe) has also been positioned at Tamale as the GOC Northern command of the Ghana Army to ensure NDC votes in the three Northern Regions of Ghana namely, Upper East, Upper West and the Northern Region proper. 

Brigadier General SB Alloh is to lead Lieutenant Colonels Joseph Malik Punamane (a Northerner) and William Adarkwa Kwabia (an Akan from Western Region) in the three Northern Regions to deflate the confidence of Dr. Bawumia in that sector and to deny the largest opposition essential votes from that sector to complement those from the strongholds in Ashanti and Eastern Regions. 

Very conscious of the important roles played by logistics in military operations, the SPEN has been respected to ensure maximum or optimum service support. For instance, Brigadier General Anthony Kwasi Dzisi (GH/2334), an Ewe, has taken over as the Defence Financial Controller (DFC) of the Ghana Armed Forces from Brigadier General Enusah Abdulai (GH/1915) a Northerner while Colonel S Babiah (a Northerner) has been retained as the Commanding Officer Forces Pay Regiment.

The two partners of the SPEN are to ensure the requisite ‘cash flows’ for all strategic and tactical operations in support of election victory for the leader of our community.

Also, Lieutenant Colonel Fuseni Abdulai Nantogma (a Northerner) has been maintained as the Commanding Officer Base Supply Depot as part of the SPEN to ensure that all the supplies (Petroleum, Oil, Lubricants, Food etc) are made available to the troops on time for their operations, duties and tasks including galamsey activities where my friend earns something small for the many ‘side-chicks’.

There is no doubt that engineer services and resources would be required in some of the operations especially the dangerous and clandestine ones. For those reasons, Lieutenant Colonels Kinney and Shooter have been positioned at 48 and 49 Engineer Regiments respectively to support all the operations, duties and tasks of the military before, during and after the December 2016 elections. Thus, the Army is battle ready for the 2016 elections.

The Navy and the Airforce have not been left out or forgotten in the SPEN to ensure victory for our leader. The various Bases for the Navy and the Airforce have been strengthened to support the Army in all the operations.

In some cases, the Navy and the Airforce are to conduct independent operations on the sea, over water bodies and in the air space of Ghana. The Naval fleet and the individual ships have been structured to reflect the SPEN in their command and administration.

A vey significant appointment has been made in the Navy. The man who strategically and tactically ensured the positions, appointments and promotions of officers in the recent years, Naval Commodore Moses Beick-Baffour (GH/2073) an Ewe is now in charge of the Eastern Naval Command with its headquarters at Tema. 

With his Area of Operation and Responsibility covering Accra and slightly beyond in the West to Aflao parts of the sea in the East and the Volta Lake, Naval Commodore Moses Beick-Baffour is ready for the December 2016 elections.