A section of the youth in Tamale in the Northern
Region of Ghana, have resolved to desist from all violent tendencies in this
year’s electioneering campaign and further dared any politician who will try to
use them as conduit for violence to enable he/she wins political power to lead
them.
According to the
youth, never again should the mistakes of the past be repeated since it cost
the lives of innocent people and destroyed the livelihoods of many who are
living in poverty and squalor.
One of the most
insecure places in Ghana is undoubtedly the Northern Regional capital town of
Tamale. This cosmopolitan city of about 500,000 people had in the last decade,
experienced several violent conflicts resulting from chieftaincy, land and
political disputes.
Human lives and
property worth several millions of cedis were lost. Many got maimed; men had
their wives taken away from them and vice versa, whilst majority of the youth crossed
borders and some sojourned to nearby cities in the country without any hope of
ever returning.
In fact,
electioneering years are bad times for most peace loving residents of Tamale.
Truth be told, that is the period most people with fresh memories of the past,
go to bed with one eye opened hoping that the days of bloodshed and curfews
would not recur.
The majority of
those often found to be engaged in these violent acts are the youth, supposedly
lured with money and other freebies by selfish politicians to enable them win power
at all cost.
As the 2012
general elections approach, majority of residents feel uneasy as they are
gripped with fear and anxiety, thinking that there could be violence
considering the manner in which the 2008 elections winded up.
It is reported that
some parliamentary candidates and government officials at the time, especially
in the two major political parties – New Patriotic Party and National
Democratic Congress – fled the country to other countries for safety after the
first round of election, fearing there was the likelihood of bloodshed among
their supporters or members, considering the way the polls were going.
For instance,
there were clashes between the NPP and NDC supporters in Tamale, Gushiegu and
other parts of the Northern Region. There were reports of double voting, vote
rigging and other malpractices associated with the election which led to the
arrest of people by law enforcement agencies particularly the police.
Interestingly,
the 2012 National Youth Policy of Ghana document puts the youth within the
brackets of 15 to 35 in line with the United Nations definition of the youth.
This group of people, in the world over, represents the most active and
critical resource of every nation especially developing ones, like Ghana.
However, if this
group, most of whom are very ignorant and innocent, continue to allow public
office seekers or politicians to use them to achieve their selfish parochial
interest, then it means that, Ghana which is an envy or shining example in
Africa, is walking in the path to self destruction like other countries
including La Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Guinea, among others.
However, at a
one-day sensitization workshop in Tamale dubbed “How to handle violent conflict
mechanisms”, a select number of youth in the metropolis who
participated vowed to stay calm and peaceful before, during and after the 2012
elections rather than satisfy the whims and caprices of greedy politicians.
The workshop was
a collaboration between Northern Ghana Network for Development (NGND) and
YouthAlive with funding from STAR-Ghana. It was a follow up to an earlier one
that dealt with civic responsibilities and rights.
According to the
Executive Director of NGND, Theophilus Dokurugu, empirical evidence showed that
the youth were always at the forefront whenever there was violent conflict.
Thus, the workshop was intended to sensitize the youth to understand the
effects of violent conflicts in their lives and in the country at large.
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