Your silence on land-grabs makes you complicit – Angry Ga Dangme youth to govt

Some Ga-Dangme youth and traditional leaders are angry with President Nana Akufo-Addo and his government over what they describe as the worst land-grabbing incident by any government in Ghana’s history.

They are accusing the President of not sticking to his promise of protecting lands belonging to the Ga-Dangme people but rather watching on as his appointees privatize lands in the Ga traditional area.

The President, in an interaction with the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs last month, noted that he has directed the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to begin consultations with the House of Chiefs, as part of moves to deal with issues of compulsory acquisition of land by the government.

But the youth of GaDangme say this is “adding salt to their injury”, as, according to them, it adds up to the numerous unfulfilled promises made to them by the president.

They have warned that they might be forced to protect their lands on their own if the President does not return lands illegally annexed by government officials, to them.

The group’s convener, Mr Jeffrey Addo kwei Tetteh, addressing the press in Accra on Tuesday, 10 November 2020, said: “He whose kernel was broken by the benevolent spirit must learn not to boast”.

“We would have had this media interaction on 27 October 2020 but for the timely request and persuasion by the NPP National Chairman, Mr Freddy Blay, who requested a 48-hour window of intervention, which was closely followed by a plea from Honourable Adjiri Blankson on the same subject.

“Although we knew their intention of buying time to work out a strategy, we still gave them the audience out of respect for the elderly.

“It was, therefore, not surprising to us when President Nana Akufo-Addo, in adding insult to our injuries, indicated his readiness to institute a commission to start looking into GaDangme land matters next year January, as if the term of the presidency extends beyond the stipulated four years in the Constitution and, again, as if the president already knows the outcome of the forthcoming election.

“Do you already know what tomorrow brings, in terms of political power, Mr President?

“Your greatest silence in these inimical activities can best be described as connivance, if not indicating of your complicity; otherwise, why should these appointees, i.e. Dominic Nitiwul, Asomah Cheremeh, Maxwell Nsafoah, Alhaji Sulley and Stephen Ntim, among others still be in office under the rule of law.

“The La State has been bleeding for the past 60 years and still counting, with the members of the La traditional council being gagged to suit the whims and caprices of the government as always, and if care is not taken, whatever scenario that took place at Denkyira Obuasi and elsewhere might be replicated in the worst form in La in the foreseeable future if and only if these demands are not addressed within reasonable and redeemable time”, the youth threatened.

For his part, the co-convener, Nii Amoah Okromansa I, said: “We’re in a constitutional era, we’re in a democratic era where the rule of law is supreme, the rule of law does not expect you to go violent ways.

“We’ve sat with the government officials, both past and present, asking for what is due us; what is given to the Akyem Kingdom, what is given to the Asante Kingdom, what is given to the Gonja land people, Dagomba people, the Voltarians, we are asking same in Greater Accra.

“As long as it will take us, even 200 years, we will continue to fight until the rights of the GaDangme people have been returned to them. If Nana Akufo-Addo doesn’t listen to us, then what happened in 1652 will happen again.”