Calls made for Prof Atuguba's arrest over coup comment
Solidiare Ghana responds to critics of Prof Raymond Atuguba
Civil society group, Solidaire Governance Forum has stated that it finds it unfortunate, certain reactions that have greeted the lecture given by one of its Honourary Fellows, Professor Raymond Atuguba, at an event held on Monday, February 28, 2022.
The Dean of Law School giving his lecture on the state of the Ghanaian economy and its effect on constitutional processes, alluded that the current state of the nation’s economy could be a potential basis for a coup d’état.
His statement however has received some condemnation from various quarters with persons within government and the ruling party, being at the forefront of such criticism.
Responding to Prof. Atuguba’s critics in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Benjamin Essuman, Solidaire Ghana emphasized the context within which the Dean of the School of Law at the University of Ghana made the statement about the eminence of a coup d’état.
“The Professor indeed made a harmless call to nationalism and sacrifice to save the broken Ghanaian economy. As part of his speech, he called on Government to make sacrifices that will encourage Ghanaians to accept the obnoxious E-Levy.
According to him, rescuing the economy is so critical that failure to do so may embolden some adventurous elements who may attempt an overthrow of the current constitutional order, using the state of the broken economy as justification,” the CSO stated.
According to the group, it finds it unfortunate that some persons known to wield power around President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, have sought to tarnish the image of Prof Atuguba by inciting members of the ruling New Patriotic Party to twist the import of his assertion.
“It is therefore unfortunate that persons who are known to wield so much power around the President, will use various mediums in a brazen attempt to sully the reputation of this legal luminary and thereby inspire their notorious party members to twist the import of Prof. Atuguba’s message and go further to make false claims against him,” the group said.
So far, some calls have been made for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Prof. Atuguba over his statement.
However, Solidaire Governance Forum in its statement expressed hope that, “the twisted mental processes that has misled people within the corridors of power to call for the arrest of the Professor, will be silenced quickly, by the men and women in government who appreciate the importance of intellectualism as an element of discourse within our democratic ecosystem.”
Prof. Atuguba's statement which has become a matter of contention indicated, "We do not want a coup in this country, yet I fear if we don't act quickly, we will have one on our hands very soon.”
Dean of UG School of Law, Professor Raymond Atuguba