Ghana’s President courted displeasure in certain diplomatic quarters since an exchange with the US Secretary of State where he lamented the activities of the Russian-linked Wagner Group in Burkina Faso- a country that borders Ghana to the north.
A security analyst who spoke on Village Square Africa implored the Ghanaian president, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo to “apologise” to his francophone counterpart for the “reckless” and “undiplomatic” comments.
Adib Saani said Burkina Faso is a sovereign country and what it does with the private military company to combat terrorism there is “none of Ghana’s business.”
Ghana’s president while attending the US-Africa summit told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he was concerned about Wagner Group in Burkina Faso. Akufo-Addo said the actions of the mercenaries there were particularly distressing.
He also said the mercenaries were being paid with a mine near the border with Ghana. This discontentment has resonated with many countries in the west especially France who have repeatedly warned of the activities of the Wagner Group in Africa.
Wagner Group is present in countries like the CAR, Mali, Mozambique, and Libya. France has been especially alarmed by their presence in their former colonies where the group is assisting with counterterrorism efforts. Nonetheless, France accused the mercenaries of gross human rights abuses and plunder of the natural resources of their host countries.
” For a lot of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, they are looking to the East rather than the West to get out of their economic quagmire even security-wise,” said Saani who explained it is because countries like France have not been successful in ending the conflicts in these countries.
Saani said the West is more worried about some African countries building new relations than they are about the conflicts in those countries.
Burkina Faso has yet to deny or confirm the allegations although authorities there have condemned Akufo-Addo. Foreign Affairs Ministry after a meeting with Ghana’s Ambassador said Ghana should have sought more information before speaking on the subject. They have since recalled the Burkinabe Ambassador to Ghana pending further consultations.
As of last year, extremists have displaced about 1.4 million citizens sparking a plethora of humanitarian problems in Burkina Faso.