President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cited the Russian government in Washington, DC, last week when he said that the Wagner Outfit, a mercenary group connected to the government, is operating in Burkina Faso, which is right next door.
In a meeting with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, President Akufo-Addo, who was in the US for the US-African Leaders’ summit, urged the US government to assist in addressing the threat posed by the group.
“I believe that there is one thing I want to urge you to consider above all else. On our northern border right now are Russian mercenaries. A deal has now been reached for Burkina Faso to support Mali in using the Wagner forces there.
“I believe a mine in southern Burkina has been allocated to them as a form of payment for their services. Prime minister of Burkina Faso in the last 10 days has been in Moscow. And to have them operating on our northern border is particularly distressing for us in Ghana,” he said.
The Russian Embassy in Accra has been tweeting subtly worded messages on Twitter in reaction to the comments made by Akufo-Addo, who went so far as to suggest that Russia would attack Ghana because of her position on the Russia-Ukraine war. The Russian government hasn’t publicly responded.
The most recent was an opinion post published on the TFIGlobal news platform by a man named Michael Mahanta. The article from December 19, 2022, titled “IMF literally bribes Ghana to turn it against Russia,” links Akufo-remarks Addo’s to Ghana’s ongoing bailout talks with the IMF.
“Now, it couldn’t have just been a coincidence that Ghana made accusations against Russia’s Wagner forces at a time when it was receiving IMF aid (and also breaking its own agreement).”
“Now, the statements from Ghana against Russia’s Wagner forces at a time when it receives IMF assistance (that too, going back on its own promise), couldn’t have just been a coincidence.”
“Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also said that Ghana could have undertaken exchanges with the Burkinabe authorities on the security issue in order to have the right information,” it added.
The author continued: “Ghana, under economic pressure, has finally come under Western influence, and there’s every possibility that Ghana is only speaking the West’s language against Russia.” The West has faced widespread criticism from Western African governments and people, and anti-West sentiments have been growing for some time.
“West African countries that once had good diplomatic, economic, and strategic ties with France, have dumped it as they have realized such partnerships have only created more crises than they have solved in the region.”