'Juju loving' Ewe textbooks: Let's unite and kick against ethnic discrimination - Okudzeto Ablakwa

Parliamentary representative for North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has called on Ghanaians not to entertain anything that seeks to discriminate against a particular ethnic group in the country.

Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa noted that undermining a particular ethnic group is a recipe for national mayhem that will abysmally impact the nation and dwarf its development.

He admonished the citizenry against encouraging ethnic divisions, citing some African countries that have had to pay dearly because of ethnicity issues.

" . . let's look at what brings us together; the bonding that should exist . . . Ghana has been spared but if you look all around us, from Ivory Coast to Nigeria, Rwanda, Burundi, we've seen the consequences of ethnic division and ethnic conflict. It leads to millions of death. So, let's try and be reconciliatory. Let's respect everybody. Let's value everybody's background. Everybody has his/her positives . . . It shouldn't go as far as becoming insults and becoming a certain derogatory, if you like, strategy that makes a certain group of people always feeling excluded and left out," he stressed.

Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa made these comments while discussing the controversial history textbooks in an interview with host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme.

The books are History of Ghana for Basic 6 by Golden Publications which carries distasteful information about Ghana's first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah and the Convention People's Party (CPP), History of Ghana Textbook 3 by Badu Nkansah Publications which features “A song that shows the Ewes identity” and Golden English Basic 4 by Golden Publications which displays “Efo agress to prepare juju for the players” on page 17.

The North Tongu Parliamentarian condemned the books and asked for an unqualifed apology from the publishers.

While calling for an apology from the publishers, he seized the opportunity to call for unity among all Ghanaians.

"We must come together and we must even be working towards continental African unity.

"Let us use this as an opportunity to mend defences, build bridges and let us honestly admit that we have done and said some things . . . all of those things have not helped and it's building a certain resentment that won't help any person, so that we can get back on the path of nationhood from national cohesion where we can all come together and develop this country. Because all these are honestly unnecessary; it's just retarding our progress. Look, we don't need these divisions. We're all one people; we have a common destiny and every Region is contributing to the development," he said.