A former National Security Coordinator, Francis Kwaku Poku, has advocated for the express acknowledgement of foot soldiers in the body politic of Ghana.

The man who served as a cabinet minister in charge of national security in the Kufuor administration said Ghanaians have turned a blind eye on the very important role foot soldiers play in party politics in Ghana.

“We should not pretend that they do not exist,” he insisted.

Mr Kwaku Poku expressed these sentiments while giving his remarks as Chairman of a public lecture organized by Media General on Thursday, March 12.

The lecture, addressed by Dr Ernest Kofi Abotsi, was centred around the violence that marred the January 31, 2019 by-election in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency.

Mr Kwaku Poku said foot soldiers do most of the dirty works for political parties and they have come to stay.

But he said they must be controlled so that their activities do not get out of hand.

“They are not animals that you use as you wish,” he noted, asking politicians to treat them as Ghanaians first and foremost.

“They deserve a role in the political process but they should be properly controlled [and] properly registered.”

He said it is when foot soldiers are not acknowledged that they metamorphose into vigilantes, who have become monsters eating deeply into the fabric of party politics in Ghana.