Solomon Owusu, a leading member of the Movement for Change, has noted that if indeed Ghana has only two active helicopters and one has crashed, the army is useless.
According to him, if Ghana is attacked today, the military cannot do anything because there are no helicopters to fly them.
Solomon Owusu on TV3’s New Day expressed his disappointment over comments made by Colonel Retired Festus Aboagye when he sought to attack NDC communicator Hamza Suhuyini over the military’s poor handling of the tragic helicopter crash on August 6.
Solomon Owusu on the show stated, “Don’t let the military think they are above criticism. In any case, when someone uses the word useless, what does it mean? It means you are not being used to your optimal levels. He himself concluded that the Ghana Armed Forces is left with two helicopters, meaning that the army is below its level. Therefore, it is being used less; therefore, it is useless”.
“The Ghanaian can only measure whether or not the Ghana Armed Forces have done well by their actions and inactions after the fact. I dare say the way and manner they handled this issue from the civilian perspective was totally wrong, though we are waiting for a final report,” he stressed.
Somolon Owusu noted, “The visuals we have seen and the whole manner in which the military responded do not give us encouragement”.
“If those that are flying are only two, and one has crashed, it means that today, if we are attacked, our army will not be able to do anything; and so they are useless.”
If the army is supposed to fly in times of need, in times of difficulty, the army is supposed to go to the front line. We have no means for flying, they will just be idle, won’t they be useless?”.
Somolon Owusu further went on to call on the military to address Ghanaians, as they must not see themselves as an Island.
“The military must not assume that whatever they are doing, they are on an island and not responsible to us. They have to be explaining matters to us,” he added.
Somolon Owusu further lambasted the former President Akufo-Addo-led administration over their misplaced priorities in allocating over US$22 million to architect David Adjaye for the design of the National Cathedral project.
Also, spending US$97 million to dig a hole at the National Cathedral project site while failing to procure military helicopters for the country.
He added, “That is why resource allocation, buying a robust helicopter, wouldn’t cost you more than US$15 million.
“But we found US$22 million and gave it to David Adjayi to just design. David Adjaye got more than US$22 million to just design what we call the National Cathedral. We found US$97 million just to go and dig a hole. That is the priority of the nation, and not the army.
“…and so, when these things come, I expect Col. Aboagye [and others] to face the music, look straight into those who have misinvested in this country to tell them enough is enough. Let us not embellish anything”, Solomon Owusu added.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has urged the media to exercise restraint and accuracy in their commentary on the recent Air Force Z-9 helicopter crash in the Ashanti Region.
GAF is calling on media practitioners, commentators, bloggers, and content creators not to draw conclusions based on opinion, perceptions.
According to GAF, premature conclusions risk misleading the public, but also deepen the pain of the bereaved families.
Captain VA Arhin, Acting Director General of Public Relations, in a statement wrote, “For the sake of the bereaved families and loved ones, the Armed Forces urge media practitioners, panelists, social commentators, bloggers, and content creators to be circumspect in their reportage as a way of according respect to the memories of the fallen heroes and to mitigate the sorrows of the bereaved families”.
“At this point in time, any purported conclusions based on opinion, perceptions, and conjectures will be premature and misleading. The public is therefore advised to be wary of such reportage,” the statement emphasised.
The statement concluded, “May the souls of our patriots continue to rest in peace”.
Watch the video below:
Don’t let the military believe they are above criticism. If we indeed have only two active helicopters, it proves the army is ineffective – Solomon Owusu, Senior Communicator, Movement for Change#TV3NewDay pic.twitter.com/CsiwcnOd2J
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) August 13, 2025