He said that President Akufo-Addo is looking on as illegal miners (galamseyers) terrorize the country by stealing its natural resources.
He added that the galamseyers are also destroying its lands and water bodies, and to an extent, the lives of Ghanaians.
Speaking in an Onua TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Friday, October 7, Odike added that the environmental terrorism in Ghana is worse than the terrorism, coups, and other upheavals in countries in the West African sub-region because it is not only killing Ghanaians but it is also denying the country the needed resources to develop.
“You (Akufo-Addo) you are superintending evil; you are superintending environmental terrorism. When there are coups in West Africa, you come out and say that they (the coups) are not good, but what you are doing is worse than coups.
“Our lands that you are destroying is worse than someone organizing a coup. Because, despite the coup in Burkina Faso, their lands will still be intact. If they stop the coups, their lands will still be there for them.
“There hasn’t been any coup in Ghana but our lands are being destroyed, and we don’t have portable water. Who is better off between us and Burkina Faso? The Rwandans had a conflict, nobody destroyed their land and now that they have resolved their issues, they are using their resources to develop their country,” he said.
Odike also berated Akufo-Addo for failing to go to any of the ‘galamsey’ sites across the country to see for himself the devastating effects of menace.
“… have you seen Akufo-Addo visiting any of the galamsey areas? As a president whose lands and water bodies are being destroyed by galamsey, Akufo-Addo has never visited any of these sites,” he noted.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has travelled to France to receive an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Sorbonne University on Monday, October 10, 2022.
According to myjoyonline.com, the president left Ghana on Saturday, October 8, 2022, and will be conferred with an Honorary Doctorate Degree and an Award of Honoris Causa as part of the activities for his six-day working visit to France.
A statement issued on Sunday, October 9, 2022, said that before receiving the award, the president will address the 215th Session of UNESCO.
“Prior to receiving the Honorary Doctorate from Sorbonne University, the President will address the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its 215th Session,” Joy News quoted part of the statement.
It further stated that Akufo-Addo will also address the Asia Society Forum on the theme, “To Act in Troubled Times: new perspectives from France, Asia, Africa and the world”.
The statement also indicated that the president will commission the refurbished Chancery building of Ghana’s Embassy in Paris.
You can also watch this episode of People & Places here:
IB/BOG
Akwasi Addai Odike (left), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (right)