International Day of Tolerance held in Yendi

As part of activities marking this year's International Day of Tolerance, the Yendi office of the National Commission For Civic Education (NCCE), organized a forum for chiefs from the feuding factions of the Yendi chieftaincy divide, representatives of political parties, women groups, youth groups, Imams, Members Of Community Based Organizations, including others at Nayilifong a suburb of Yendi in the Yendi Municipality of Northern Region.

In an address, the Yendi Municipal Director of NCCE Alhaji Sulemana Alhassan Iddi, urged students of the Yendi Senior High School, Dagbong State Senior High Technical School, Prestige College International and Centre of Excellence Business Senior High School in Yendi and some members of the Yendi community, to put away ethnic, political, religious and chieftaincy differences and work together as united people with a common destiny, to enhance peace and development in the area.

Alhaji Sulemana stated that tolerance was so essential for national harmony, and that individuals, groups, communities and Ghanaians as a whole, should accept and respect the multi-cultural character of the Ghanaian family.

He reminded them that without tolerance there can be no peace and without peace there can be no development and democracy.

In another development, a similar fora was organized for the four Senior High Schools In their schools in Yendi.

In separate addresses, Alhaji Sulemana informed the students that intolerance may take the form of marginalization of groups of people with different opinions and other vulnerable groups, the exclusion of these groups from social and violence and discrimination against them.

He said the unending ethnic, chieftaincy and political conflicts which characterize the Yendi area are results of intolerance.

He noted that when people tolerate each other, they understand each other’s rights and interests better, and will always prefer to dialogue to resolve their differences rather than resort to violence.

He urged chiefs, and the staff of the school, to always let their people and students live at peace.

He advised the students to learn and respect the rights of all other humans. At the Prestige College International a member of the teaching staff expressed his frustration about the negative roles some parents play in perpetuating the culture of intolerance in their children.

He said some parents deliberately spread false information about other people’s tradition, culture, religion and other people’s tradition, religion and other historical facts to their children who unsuspectingly belief in these wrong information.

Another teaching staff member of the Dagbong State Senior High Technical School Mr. Abukari Issahaku called on chiefs and people of the three Northern Regions of Ghana to reach out to each other with reciprocal respect as this is the only way that they can promote tolerance and peace in the area hence attain their development needs.

During contributions and question time in all the communities, Senior High Schools where the fora was organized the people identified the effect of intolerance as it promotes political, religious, chieftaincy and ethnic, violent conflicts and destruction of life and property, and intolerance as drawbacks of development, since funds meant for development activities are channeled into peace-keeping activities.