Ghana’s Security Gap: Nitiwul Criticizes Mahama Over Missing Defence Minister After Burkina Faso Assault

Introduction: A Critical Security Lapse in Focus

A significant political and security controversy has erupted in Ghana following a terrorist attack on Ghanaian citizens in neighboring Burkina Faso. At the center of the storm is former Defence Minister and Bimbilla MP, Dominic Nitiwul, who has launched a pointed critique against President John Dramani Mahama. Nitiwul’s core argument is that the President’s failure to appoint a substantive Defence Minister has created a dangerous leadership vacuum in Ghana’s national security apparatus precisely when high-level, coordinated action is required. This incident underscores the tangible risks of prolonged ministerial vacancies in key security portfolios, especially in a sub-region grappling with escalating jihadist threats. This analysis will unpack the events, dissect the constitutional and operational roles at stake, and explore the broader implications for Ghana’s national security strategy and foreign policy in West Africa.

Key Points: The Core of the Criticism

Dominic Nitiwul’s statements, based on reports from Life Pulse Daily, highlight several non-negotiable imperatives for Ghana’s security governance:

• Leadership Vacuum: The absence of a confirmed Defence Minister is described as a “weakness” in Ghana’s security structure, impairing strategic command and rapid response.
• Nature of the Threat: The Burkina Faso assault on Ghanaian tomato traders is characterized as a “terrorist attack” with international dimensions, demanding a response beyond routine diplomatic channels.
• Mandate of the Defence Minister: Nitiwul asserts that the Defence Minister’s specific duties include leading a high-level delegation to Burkina Faso, engaging directly with Burkinabe defence and security counterparts, and overseeing an intelligence-driven investigation.
• Role Clarity: He sharply distinguishes the Defence Minister’s external, military-focused mandate from the Interior Minister’s internal security remit, which ends at Ghana’s borders.
• Urgent Action Required: The appropriate response, in his view, would have seen the Defence Minister on a flight to Ouagadougou immediately after the attack to coordinate protection for citizens and gather intelligence.
• Demand for Accountability: The government, through either the Foreign or Defence Minister, must provide a “detailed explanation” to the Ghanaian public about the incident and the steps being taken.

Background: The Burkina Faso Assault and Ghana’s Ministerial Void

The Incident: Attack on Ghanaian Traders

According to the initial report, Ghanaian citizens involved in the tomato trade were targeted in a terrorist assault within Burkina Faso. While specific details like the exact location, date, and perpetrators are not provided in the source article, the context places this within the ongoing Sahel crisis. Jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State have frequently attacked civilians and economic interests across the Burkina Faso-Mali-Niger tri-border area, often kidnapping or killing foreign nationals. An attack on Ghanaians transforms a regional security crisis into a direct homeland security concern for Accra.

Ghana’s Current Security Leadership Structure

At the time of the incident, President John Mahama (who assumed office after the 2024 election) had not yet appointed a substantive Minister for Defence. The Ministry of Defence, responsible for the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), national defence policy, and military diplomacy, was presumably being overseen by a caretaker minister or the President himself. This situation is not uncommon during government transitions but becomes highly contentious during a security crisis. The last substantive Defence Minister before this period was Dominic Nitiwul himself, who served under the previous administration, giving his critique the weight of recent experience.

The West African Security Context

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region is experiencing its most severe security deterioration in decades. Burkina Faso has been a primary epicenter of violence, with large swathes of territory under insurgent control. This instability fuels terrorism, arms trafficking, and crime, directly threatening coastal states like Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Benin. Ghana has historically been a stable pillar but faces threats from spillover, radicalization, and attacks on its citizens and economic interests abroad. A proactive and well-led Defence Ministry is considered essential for intelligence sharing, bilateral military cooperation (like with Burkina Faso), and preparing for potential contingencies.

Analysis: Deconstructing the Ministerial Mandate and the Risks of Inaction

The Constitutional and Operational Role of the Defence Minister

Ghana’s 1992 Constitution vests executive authority in the President, who delegates specific responsibilities to ministers. The Minister for Defence is a critical principal secretary to the President on all matters pertaining to the Ghana Armed Forces and national defence. Key functions, as implied by Nitiwul and standard practice, include:

• Strategic Leadership: Setting defence policy and ensuring military readiness.
• Civil-Military Coordination: Acting as the primary political link between the government and the military high command (Chief of Defence Staff).
• International Military Diplomacy: Leading engagements with foreign defence ministers and military leaders on bilateral security cooperation, joint exercises, and crisis response. This is distinct from the Foreign Minister’s broader diplomatic portfolio.
• Crisis Management: In the event of an attack on citizens abroad, the Defence Minister is typically responsible for coordinating the military and intelligence components of the response—such as deploying a reconnaissance team, facilitating evacuation planning, and liaising with host nation military commands.
• Intelligence Oversight: Supervising defence intelligence agencies to gather, analyze, and act on threats against national interests overseas.

Nitiwul’s insistence that the Interior Minister—responsible for police, immigration, and domestic security—is not the correct lead is legally and operationally sound. The Interior Ministry’s mandate does not extend to commanding military operations or engaging foreign defence establishments. Sending the Interior Minister to Burkina Faso would be a protocol misstep, as he would need to interact with his counterpart, the Defence Minister, creating an unnecessary and confusing layer.

Perils of a Prolonged Vacancy

The criticism extends beyond this single incident to the systemic risk of an unfilled cabinet post. A vacant or caretaker-led ministry suffers from:

• Lack of Political Authority: A substantive minister has the political clout to make swift decisions, allocate resources, and represent the nation at high-level international meetings (e.g., with the ECOWAS Commission or Burkinabe leadership). A caretaker often lacks this mandate.
• Strategic Drift: Long-term planning, procurement, and force development initiatives can stall without permanent political leadership championing them.
• Diminished Situational Awareness: The minister is the crucial node for receiving classified intelligence briefings and translating them into actionable political directives. A gap here can mean delayed responses to emerging threats.
• Signal to Adversaries: Perceived administrative disorganization or indecision can be exploited by terrorist networks and hostile state actors, who may interpret the vacancy as a sign of weakened national resolve or capability.
• Morale Impact: The rank-and-file of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Defence Ministry bureaucracy may feel demotivated by the lack of clear, permanent political leadership.

Regional Precedents and Best Practices

In the Sahel, neighboring countries have demonstrated the importance of agile defence leadership. For instance, during periods of acute crisis, Ivorian and Beninese Defence Ministers have frequently led high-level delegations to Mali and Burkina Faso for security talks. Within ECOWAS, the Defence and Security Committee is a critical body where ministers coordinate regional responses. Ghana’s absence from such forums at the ministerial level, or its attendance by a non-substantive official, diminishes its influence and ability to shape sub-regional security architecture—a key national interest.

Practical Advice: Navigating the Crisis and Strengthening Governance

For the Ghanaian Government

• Expedite Ministerial Appointments: The President must immediately fill the Defence Ministry, along with any other key security vacancies (e.g., National Security Coordinator). This is a constitutional duty that directly impacts national safety.
• Immediate Diplomatic and Intelligence Action: Even without a minister, the government must activate a crisis team. The National Security Council Secretariat, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ghana Armed Forces Intelligence Unit, should immediately engage their Burkinabe counterparts to ascertain facts, ensure the safety of affected citizens, and gather threat intelligence.
• Transparent Communication: Issue a detailed public statement addressing the Burkina Faso incident, the steps taken, and the plan for protecting Ghanaians abroad. Transparency builds public trust during a crisis.
• Review Consular Support Protocols: Assess the support mechanisms for Ghanaian traders and diaspora communities in high-risk Sahelian zones. This includes improving threat alert dissemination and evacuation planning.
• Bolster Bilateral Military Ties: Formalize and enhance intelligence sharing and joint training initiatives with Burkina Faso’s armed forces, which requires a Defence Minister to lead such strategic dialogues.

For Parliament and Civil Society

• Parliamentary Oversight: The Defence and Interior Committees of Parliament should summon the relevant caretaker ministers and security agency heads for an emergency briefing. This is a core oversight function.
• Non-Partisan Security Dialogue: Civil society organizations and think tanks (e.g., Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Ghana Center for Democratic Development) should facilitate expert discussions on national security strategy, depoliticizing the issue where possible.
• Public Education: Media outlets have a role to explain the distinct roles of the Defence and Interior Ministers to the public, fostering an informed citizenry that can hold leaders accountable.

FAQ: Addressing Common Questions

Why is a Defence Minister specifically needed for an incident in Burkina Faso?

The incident involves a terrorist attack on citizens abroad, which falls under the intersection of national defence, foreign policy, and military intelligence. The Defence Minister is the cabinet-level leader for the military and defence intelligence apparatus. They have the authority to deploy military assets for reconnaissance or potential non-combatant evacuation operations (NEO), and to engage directly with the host nation’s Ministry of Defence and military chiefs—a level of engagement the Interior Minister, focused on domestic police and immigration, is not mandated or typically equipped to handle.

What exactly happened in Burkina Faso to the Ghanaian tomato buyers?

Based on the available report, a terrorist group conducted an assault targeting a group of Ghanaian nationals involved in the tomato trade within Burkina Faso. The precise outcome (e.g., casualties, kidnappings) is not detailed in the source article. What is clear is that the nature of the act—a terrorist attack on economic actors—signals a threat that transcends ordinary crime and requires a coordinated state response involving defence and intelligence agencies.

Can’t the Foreign Minister handle this? Isn’t it a diplomatic issue?

While the Foreign Minister is essential for overall diplomatic relations and consular assistance, a terrorist attack has a distinct defence and intelligence dimension. The Foreign Ministry engages the Burkinabe Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, to understand the military situation on the ground, assess the threat to other citizens, and plan any protective or extractive measures, engagement with the Burkinabe Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces is necessary. This is the Defence Minister’s direct counterpart. A dual-track approach (Foreign Ministry for diplomacy, Defence Ministry for military/intelligence coordination) is the standard best practice for such incidents.

Is it unconstitutional to not have a Defence Minister?

The 1992 Constitution (Article 78) requires the President to appoint a cabinet, which includes ministers heading executive departments. It does not explicitly state a strict deadline for all appointments after an election or during a term. However, prolonged vacancies in key portfolios like Defence, Interior, and Foreign Affairs can be argued to contravene the spirit of the constitution, which v