I'm a very stubborn person; I do what I believe in Nunoo Mensah

General News of Saturday, 1 November 2014

Source: myjoyonline.com

Former National Security Advisor and two time Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier General (Retired), Joseph Nunoo Mensah has admitted that he is very rough and tough and people find him uncomfortable to deal with, especially the young ones who consider him a bore.

In a hearty conversation with Nana Ansah Kwao IV on pm:EXPRESS personality profile on Multi TV, the old soldier says he has been vocal on many issues but people would not listen. He also admitted he has been punished in many ways for being vocal but that doesnt stop him.

He has no apology for his famous controversial statement: if the kitchen is too hot, take your passport and get out. He said, he is prepared to say it again and live by it. He said the statement didnt cause him any trouble at all, but rather a test of his convictions and how tough he is.

Nunoo Mensah was disappointed that lots of people in society today are lazy and have become crooks, looking for easy ways to make money. He bemoans the level of public sector corruption, citing GYEEDA, National Service Scheme and others, which he considers an indictment on "all of us"- Ghanaians.

As the only surviving member of the original conspirators within the Military that overthrew Colonel Acheampongs Presidency, he explains that, it was a principle that the Military is not to interfere in politics and vice versa.

He further explained that, the Military at that time only intervened to capture power and hand it over to competent hands for governance, and not to stay in power themselves. We are not trained in the Army to lead a government, we are trained to defend a country, and if you have to intervene for some reason, you shouldnt stay in power he emphasised.

He added that the coup through the Supreme Military Council, headed by Lieutenant General Akuffo was necessary to end the rift in the Military. He also admits that, even though Acheampongs stay in office was short lived, he is credited with many developmental projects in the country, which history is oblivious of.

In his view, Nkrumah is the most humble President the country has ever had and that even though he had lived through every coup dtat in this country, he was never actively involved in any plot to overthrow any government.

Original post:
I'm a very stubborn person; I do what I believe in Nunoo Mensah