According to Wikipedia, a coup d’etat (French), often shortened to ‘a coup’ in English or ‘overthrow’, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers.

www.britannica.com also says; a coup d’etat is a sudden, often violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group.

Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, rebel group, military or by a dictator.

According to experts, coups d’etat usually seek only to replace key government personnel rather than forcing sweeping changes to a country’s fundamental social and political ideology.

As a key to success, groups attempting coups, typically seek to gain support of all or parts of a country’s armed forces, police and other military elements.

In his book; Political Order in Changing Societies (published in 1968), Samuel P. Huntington says, there are three generally recognised types of coups. And they are (a) “The breakthrough coup” (b) “The guardian coup” and (c) “The veto coup”.

Samuel Huntington, also a political scientist, says with “The breakthrough coup”, opposing civilian or military organisers overthrow the seated government and install themselves as a nation’s new leaders.

Huntington explains that with “The guardian coup”, typically described as ‘justified’ as being for the “broader good of the nation”, occurs when one elite group seizes power from another elite group.

According to Huntington, in “The veto coup”, a nation’s military steps in to prevent radical political changes.

Of late, readers, the fact of the matter is that, ‘coup-mongering voices’ seem to be spreading from the ‘stock’ of the Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), thus, ‘snowballing’ into a national conversation.

For instance, Brigadier-General (Rtd) Joseph Nunoo-Mensah, a former National Security Adviser and an NDC ‘high-fly-employee’, claims all his efforts to meet President Akufo-Addo to discuss a possibility of a coup in Ghana have proved futile.

Recently speaking on Rainbow Radio (87.5 FM) , Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah said, he and a colleague retired army officer had sought audience to dialogue with President Akufo Addo on the coup in Mali and Burkina Faso and “a possible one in Ghana” but that opportunity has not been possible.

He said, he and his colleague had seen some indicators that could trigger a coup in Ghana, stressing that “the nation must prepare because the signs of coups are clear on the streets.”

The former Chief of Defence Staff said:”Ghana is in danger but our leaders have refused to be on guard to address the hardship Ghanaians are facing.

“Just last year, myself and a former military officer, General Selasi (rtd) tried to see the President so as to bring these to his hearing but we never got the chance to meet the President.

“Up till now, we’ve not had the opportunity to meet him. If we don’t take care, what we fear will happen.”

Some critics of Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah are, however, asking:”Apart from his anxiety to meet the President in person, what useful advice has he got to give the Akufo-Addo led Government?

“If Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah is genuine with his ‘intentions’, can’t he give whatever information at his disposal to the relevant security agencies, looking at his ‘pedigree’ as a high-notch military officer?”

The Dean of the University of Ghana School of Law, Professor Raymond Atuguba also says,”the current economic situation in the country could trigger a coup”.

He is quoted as saying: “My current assessment that Ghana may be ripe for a coup partly springs from the knowledge I gained from accompanying my friend, through part of his doctoral research on this topic.”

Speaking at a forum organised by Solidare Ghana, on the nation’s economy, last Monday, February 28,  2022, Professor Atuguba said: “We do not want a coup in this country, yet I fear that if we do not act quickly, we may have one on our hands very soon.”

However, some critics of Professor Atuguba are also asking: “When President John Mahama was mismanaging Ghana’s economy, culminating in ‘dumsor-dumsor’ and destroying all businesses in the country;  did it trigger a coup or the NDC was expecting the ‘rotten-Mahama economy’ to trigger a coup that never happened?

“To the extent that the Mahama regime of which Professor Atuguba was a king-pin , had to run to the International Monetary Fund, to seek ‘policy credibility’ because the economy was rendered hopeless; and even that did not trigger a coup?”

Professor Atuguba’s critics further ask: “Why are the coup mongers ’emerging’ from the ‘stock ‘of the NDC?

“Are they in haste to be ‘drafted’ into ‘coup-government’ to do more damage to the economy in this pandemic era?”

And currently, Mawuse Oliver Barker-Vormawor, an NDC apologist, is being prosecuted on a charge of treason felony.

Barker-Vormawor’s arrest and prosecution is in relation to a social media post in which he threatened to stage a coup if the E-levy Bill which is currently under consideration in Parliament is passed into law.

According to the police, Barker-Vormawor’s social media post, “contained a clear statement of intent with a possible will to execute a coup in his declaration of intent to subvert the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.”

And without any provocation from the Ghana Armed Forces, Barker-Vormawor described the Ghana Army as “useless” in his social media post.

Readers, from the foregoing, can anyone of you fathom why the ‘coup-mongering gas’ is gradually but steadily ‘leaking’ from the ‘kitchens’ of the NDC?

Contact email/ WhatsApp of the author:

asmahfrankg@gmail.com (0505556179)

BY G. FRANK ASMAH