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Legally, Ghana Doesn’t Exist – Kosi Kedem
Kosi Kedem, a former Member of Parliament for Hohoe South has argued that Ghana does not legally exist.
This comes in the wake of some group pf persons alleged to be secessionists in the Volta Region demanding a breakaway from the country.
“There’s no union document on the so-called union between Ghana (Gold Coast) and Togoland. De facto, they are one [unit], but legally, Ghana does not exist,” Kosi Kedem said on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday.
He explained that Ghana as a country is made up of the Gold Coast and the UN Trust Territory of British Togoland, adding that, for a union to be constitutionally legal, a union document needs to be legalized.
Kedem said, “Resolution 1044 which recognizes the recommended union, the same UN Resolution 1044 invited the British Government which was the administering authority to take such steps as necessary to bring about the union.”
He continued: “So, if a Trust Territory, being ruled by the UN and a colony being ruled by Britain are to come into union, what do you do? You have to sit the two of them down for them to determine what type of government they want to have, what will be their responsibilities, obligations and benefits. No such thing was done.”
Kosi Kedem revealed: “The problem is that there was a plebiscite as a result of the UN Visiting Mission which came to the two Togos; French Togo and British Togo in 1955, and they recommended that there should be a plebiscite in British Togoland to determine their political fate. Majority of Togoland said that they wanted a union with an independent Gold Coast…the UN General Assembly rejected the offer of the union and forcibly integrated Togoland with Gold Coast.”
“On the eve of independence, around 4th March, the British Government with the help of the CPP government just sent troops to Togoland and occupied the place on the pretence that they were quelling a rebellion,” he noted.
He called for a dialogue between the secessionist group and government instead of resorting to violence.
“Violence, confrontation, repression are very powerful, but dialogue negotiation and engagement are far more powerful than violence because violence does not solve any problem, dialogue does. It gives you a long-lasting solution to the problem,” the former MP added.
