Ghana: NGO Calls for a United Country

Ernest Best Anane

1 July 2011

Kumasi — Mr. Isaac Kwadwo Tuffuor, Executive Director of Age Vision-Africa, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) for the promotion of peace and stability in Africa has stressed the importance of Ghanaians to remain united as a people in the face of political differences. He described as alarming, the rate at which the peace and unity of some Africa countries have been derailed as a result of elections.

Mr. Kwadwo Tuffuor said at a press conference in Kumasi recently, that as a concerned organization which seeks to promote peace in Africa, there was the need to unite in order to promote peace in the 2012 elections and beyond.

According to him, the peaceful environment in Ghana was nearly marred during the 2008 general elections, but by the Grace of God none of the happening in other African countries befell her, and Ghana continues to be a shinning example of African continent.

He lamented that Ghanaians are not learning lessons from their neighbours, who have suffered from election- related violence, saying this is worrying, especially as some political leaders continue to incite their supporters against their political opponents.

Mr. Tuffuor cautioned politicians, whose business he said was to create chaos, not to inflame passion among the people, since they can never bring heaven to us, emphasizing that “at best these politicians would take advantage of our ignorance and dump us after they have won elections as Presidents and Members of Parliament”.

According to Mr. Tuffuor, “War is bigger than one man”, and therefore prevailed on Ghanaians to fight as one, than to die as many, noting that everyone will eventually die, but the most important thing is to die decently.

He called for unity among the people against politicians who generate violence for their benefit, as the best way of seeking political independence. “There is no gentle way to destroy and there no honorable way to kill, so we have no reason not to unite and build this dear nation of ours”, he advised.

According to Mr. Tuffuor, politicians have taken us for a ride because we always rely on government for everything, when in actual fact governments are not the solution to our problems. “It is only our sweat from hard work and integrity on our part that can feed us”, he said.

The Executive Director of the NGO, therefore, stressed the need for Ghanaians to wake up from their slumber and not allow themselves to be used for the interest of individual politicians. “Our survival depends on our hard work and not politicians” he cautioned.

He, therefore, called on Ghanaians to always try and remain united and not rely on politicians, whose main agenda is to divide the people at the expense of peace and our welfare and reminded them to be conscious of the fact that -“we have no friend in opposition because it is the opposition that forms the government, when a government goes into opposition who goes on with the blame game without any concrete solution till their term of office ends.”

AllAfrica – All the Time