Statesman and founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has recounted what he describes as a period during former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration when Ghana was at risk of slipping into military rule.
According to the veteran politician, two senior military officers, the late General Ashley-Larsen and General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah, became concerned about the direction of the country and sought an opportunity to advise the then-President.
Speaking in an interview on Onua TV on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said the two generals believed the prevailing circumstances required their intervention because, in his words, Ghana was “walking into the hands of the military.”
He said the retired officers were motivated by concerns about the security and stability of the country and wanted to engage Akufo-Addo directly.
“When Akufo-Addo became president of this country and this nation was walking into the hands of the military, two generals decided to have a chat with Akufo-Addo and advise because of the safety of this country,” he recounted.
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe explained that General Ashley-Larsen, whom he described as one of the oldest senior generals at the time, and General Nunoo-Mensah sought to arrange the meeting through the appropriate channels.
He said the matter was eventually communicated to the former President, but the response they received was not what the two generals had expected.
According to him, General Nunoo-Mensah was driving around Cantonments when he received a call from a minister, whom he believed was serving as National Security Minister at the time.
Rather than arranging a meeting between the retired generals and Akufo-Addo, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said the minister indicated that the President wanted them to engage the security services instead.
“The person was rather telling him that the President would like them to talk to the security services. Can you believe that? Two generals,” he said.
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said the two officers had considerable experience and were much older than those involved in the situation. He argued that their intention was to provide guidance based on their experience and concerns about the country’s security.
However, he said the generals eventually chose not to pursue the matter further.
“So, what happened? There are no kids. Even in age, they are far, far older than us. So, they decided just to leave it and we were dangling like this, dangling,” he recounted.
The NPP founding member suggested that the circumstances left Ghana in a precarious position, although the country ultimately remained under constitutional democratic rule.
He said Ghanaians should be grateful that the situation did not result in the country losing its democratic system.
“The whole nation was dangling and we should thank God that we are still a nation,” Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe stated.
His account comes amid continuing political discussions about Ghana’s democratic stability and the role of the security services in protecting the country’s constitutional order.
