Some concerned women in the Tamale Metropolis on Saturday August 20, 2016 organized a peaceful march in Tamale Township with a call on politicians to stop hate speech.
They held placards with inscriptions such as, “Issues not insults,” “Ballots not bullets,” “We love peace,” “We are peace makers” and “Let us think about the future of our children.”
A civil society organization called Northern Women for Peace organized the march which brought together a multitude of women from the Tamale Metropolis.
The organization’s President, Ajara Musah in a Citi News interview decried the rising political tension ahead of the December 7 polls.
She said women and children usually suffered the penalty of political upheavals, hence their call for a peaceful conduct of the 2016 polls.
She implored leaders and supporters of the competing political parties to be decorous on their campaign platforms.
Ajara Musah insisted that the nation should emerge further united after the upcoming December polls.
Below is the statement the peace seekers presented to the Gukpegu-Naa in Tamale.
SPEECH DELIVERED BY SARA AJARA MUSAH, PRESIDENT OF THE NORTHERN WOMEN FOR PEACE DURING A PEACE-BUILDING MARCH IN TAMALE ON SATURDAY, 20th AUGUST, 2016.
Gukpegu Naa, we bring you special greetings from the Northern Women for Peace. The main purpose of our visit is to call on you to use your esteem and royal office to promote peace in the Northern region and Ghana at large in this crucial election year.
We strongly believe that your influence can help maintain peace among the good people of Tamale and beyond before, during and after the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for the 7th December, 2016.
Gukpegu Naa, violent political conflicts rob the nation of vast human resources, robs woman of their husbands, breadwinners, children and resources that they have so much toiled for in many years. Clear examples were found in Bawku and Aglogboshie in Accra a few years ago.
Gukpegu Naa, ladies and gentlemen, political party leaders need to behave like good mothers sharing a piece of pie among young children. Because, in the absence of the motherly or proper guidance, many selfish and greedy people will go out of their way to misconduct themselves and create undesirable tension in our peaceful Tamale and Ghana as a whole.
The Northern Women for Peace have chosen this path of peace because we believe in life, because we believe in humanity; because we believe that political parties need peace to rule the country and improve the living standard of Ghanaians.
We do not believe that any problem could be resolved through the destruction of life, the protection of which in the last count.
Gukpegu Naa, ladies and gentlemen, we believe that peace is more than the simple absence of war. Therefore, we call on the law enforcement agencies to be impartial and mount surveillance to nib potentially violent situations in the bud.
Our traditional authorities and political parties should control the youth and ensure that they play by the rules and regulations laid down by Ghana’s electoral system.
Finally, we need strong and continued support from the various election observer groups and missions, including the international community and especially from our friends in the United Kingdom and USA to monitor the December elections and we urge all political parties to remain peaceful and carry out their campaigns in decorum and Ghana will emerge victorious after the elections in December in mutual understanding, reconciliation leading to Ghana’s development.
Naa Gukpegu, ladies and gentlemen the Northern Women for Peace once again plead with you to add your voice to the clarion call for peace anytime the politicians pay courtesy call on you. Indeed the people of the Northern Ghana and Ghanaians for that matter, are pleading for peace, we advocate for peace and trust that you will heed to our plea.
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana