Ghana pulls down Jonathan, Buhari billboards

The campaign billboards of two Nigerian
presidential candidates erected in Ghana’s capital,
Accra have been pulled down following an order
by the country’s (Ghana) national security agency.
The billboards of the ruling Peoples Democratic
Party featuring President Goodluck Jonathan, as
well as those of the main opposition All
Progressives Congress of Muhammadu Buhari,
located on Accra roads, were pulled down over the
weekend by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.
The decision to pull down the billboards was said
to have come amid fears by some Ghanaians that
their country could be drawn indirectly into the
politics of Nigeria, with security implications,
especially with the Boko Haram terrorists wreaking
havoc in Nigeria.
Following the order by the National Security,
according to GhanaWeb , a security expert at the
Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training
Centre, Dr. Kwesi Annin, had indicated that Ghana
had been saved from a possible attack by the
terrorist group, Boko Haram, by pulling down the
billboards put up in some parts of Accra.
He was quoted to have said that political elite in
the country could have been targeted by Boko
Haram if the political campaign in Ghana was not
stopped.
He said, “I think it is critical that the National
Security and Accra Metropolitan Assembly have
listened to the concerns and voices raised by
ordinary citizens that these billboards and some
level of active political engagement might pose
potential threat in the future.”
He said the removal of the billboards should not
only be about Boko Haram, but also about whether
or not laws governing the country permit foreign
political entities to campaign in Ghana.
Meanwhile, an international relations expert, Dr.
Vladmir Antwi Danso, said Ghana had been saved
from severing future relations with Nigeria.
He was reported to have explained that if there
was the perception that Ghana was supporting one
candidate over the other, then the relationship
between Ghana and Nigeria after the elections
would be marred.
“What if after the elections the scales change, then
the relationship between our country and Nigeria
will also have some hiccups,” Danso said.