It is high time the African Union instituted a military high command to ensure peace on the African continent to avoid over-reliance on foreign forces in times of need, IMANI Vice President Kofi Bentil has suggested.
According to him, “one of the reasons why Kwame Nkrumah was pushing for the AU is the African High Command”, explaining: “Kwame Nkrumah realised that we would not have a continent-wide military force capable of intervening in individual states if you do not do it through a vehicle like the AU.”
Former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh refused to hand over power in that country after losing an election to Adama Barrow until an intervention by ECOWAS and Guinea President Alpha Conde persuaded him to give up without bloodshed.
According to Mr Bentil, who was speaking on World Affairs hosted by Etse Sikanku, “what happened in Gambia recently bears out the fact that Kwame Nkrumah was right and we still need an African High Command which is some sort of a standby force that can intervene in individual countries where we think it is necessary”.
“The AU must get down doing things that will really have an effect [on people’s lives]. The High Command is a good idea, if they focus on that it will have a good effect,” he emphasised on Friday, February 17.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
