It’s a bit concerning as well as disconcerting for one to see these disturbing scenes on our screens, considering Ogyakrom prides itself to be a peaceful and humble place among the comity of nations on the continent.

In the wake of the relative ease with which events seemed to have developed recently, one couldn’t help but think aloud on the questions below and perhaps taking the unpleasant liberty to let the imagination run wild here on these scenarios.

Are the security forces (e.g. police, intelligence agencies, etc) in that region possibly in cahoots with these so-called ‘rag tag’ army of secessionists hence this apparent weakness in their response by allowing themselves to be run over so easily and cheaply like that - are they, in any way, sympathetic or complicit?

Is the government's apparent slow response to this ‘somehow’ security threat deliberate so as to avoid any miscalculation as a result of the long-standing fraught, delicate political dynamics of that region and the present government political tradition/extraction?

Had the government used heavy-handed hard core military response, would it have elicited fake emotional response of accusations of political persecution or bias especially from the opposition party and those that think alike?

Is it also a calculated ploy by ‘reasonable minds’ to allow the chaotic situation created by those behind this treasonable act to play on so as to see the extent to which these secessionists can go to achieve their political aims and ambitions?

And to the above end, does this allow the government to gain enough political capital from the majority of the population - the necessary backing needed for any heavy-handedness response in order to avoid the opposition party’s exploitation of the situation for their own selfish political gains and interests?

Or is it simply a matter of complete intelligence and utter security failure on the part of the intelligence and security agencies respectively?

None of the above scenarios looks good and hopefully they just continue to remain ‘far-fetched ridiculous’ thoughts because one cannot imagine any secessionist group from any other part of Ogyakrom getting away with this kind of ‘kid gloves’ treatment of any sort.

Last but not least, for the sake of practicality with regards to the timings of these secessionists’ agitations, the following questions also come to mind and thus into play and to the fore for consideration, supposedly.

Why does this agitation for independence or secession always flare-up from that part of Ogyakrom whenever the party of the present government is in power but none whatsoever when the opposition party is in power?

Is it because the people behind these secession movements now realized the ‘die is cast’ on their 'hegemonic' grip on power and thus their 'monopolistic' hold on that region is somehow broken forever as a result of the creation of another region on that part of Ogyakrom?

By the way, is the enabling environment being created to allow these so-called secessionists to realize their political ambitions? - after all, can they ever be satisfied at all, at any time in Ogyakrom if they cannot be satisfied in an era of ‘freebies’ and collective wholesale strategic development of every corner of Ogyakrom?

In any way, what has Ogyakrom got to lose if, by chance, this region is allowed to secede from the rest of Ogyakrom? Will this necessarily lead to similar agitations from other parts of Ogyakrom to also secede? Perhaps?

For that matter, is it likely that other ancient dominions who were coerced into this ‘empire’ called Ogyakrom and thus not even given the opportunity to hold a plebiscite to be part of this big entity, finally get the chance to also decide on their destiny in Ogyakrom?

Even if the above is the case, will this not allow Ogyakrom to go back to the original pre-colonial territorial lines/borders, where each territorial group/entity and its allies and traditional alliances (forged over centuries) formed a community of small states in charge of their own destiny before the idea of “Sika Kokoo Mpuano” was even contemplated by “Kwasi Broni” on our shores?

Provided the above is such an extreme position and therefore the concept of “Sankofa” cannot, particularly, be applied and appropriate in this situation, doesn’t this finally bring to the fore once again, the stickler question of federalism back to the table? Will the federal system of government as opposed to the unitary system not allow each region to be in charge of their future by using their own human and natural resources for development and progress so as to determine their collective fate, and thereby quelling and addressing these often charged cycle of accusations of bias, neglection, lack of developments and disappointments with ministerial government positions usually associated with the present unitary state?

Is it not about time to have another referendum to decide the way forward (federalism or unitary) with respect to the type of government suitable for Ogyakrom?

Wasn’t the last referendum on this tough question held about 70 or more years ago (i.e. almost 3 generations ago) when the majority of the present population of Ogyakrom people wasn’t even born?

Hence, will another affirmation for the type of government system, i.e. either a federal state or a unitary state, through a referendum, not, undoubtedly, go a long way to address and settle this systemic cycle of accusations of bias and favouritism in Ogyakrom’s body politic?

Finally, will any dispassionate consideration of federalism or the lack thereof, as part of the mitigation process in addressing Ogyakrom’s present circumstances, help avoid the ‘can of worms’ these secessionists movements are trying to open up in Ogyakrom?

In conclusion, is it really unthinkable to use the peaceful “mate me ho” of federalism (of bygone era) as a long term lasting solution in solving the present violent “mate me ho” of secessionism? Isn’t it worth serious consideration now?

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