President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo … enough of the talk …
Ghanaians want Results
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on numerous occasions, assured the good people of Northern Region of his commitment to continuou ... read full comment
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo … enough of the talk …
Ghanaians want Results
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on numerous occasions, assured the good people of Northern Region of his commitment to continuous peace under his leadership. Indeed, the latest of such promises was on December 23, 2016, as captured by Paul Achonga Kwode in a Ghana News Agency Report, under the caption “Nana Akufo-Addo assures Dagbon of peace and reconciliation”.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, then President-elect, assured the chiefs and people of the Dagbon traditional area of total peace and reconciliation during his tenure. He said he was not interested in chieftaincy issues, but would work in truth, openness and honesty for the right things to be done. He expressed gratitude to the people of Dagbon for sustaining the peace in the region despite serious fears of turmoil during the 2016 elections. These statements from President Akufo-Addo echoed across the Northern Region of Ghana.
It is devastating to note that, less than two months after he took over as President of the nation, Bimbilla is in crisis. A number of people have lost their lives as a result of the disturbances which took place on the 9th of February, 2017. This is totally unacceptable!
Contrary to the fears expressed by many that the 2016 elections could trigger violence in parts of Northern Region, the elections ended peacefully in the region. One is therefore at loss why less than two months into his administration, there are renewed chieftaincy related crises in the Northern Region, specifically in Bimbilla.
What is even more troubling is the fact that the new Defence Minister, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul, who doubles as Member of Parliament for Bimbilla Constituency, hails from that area. As a representative of the good people of Bimbilla, Hon. Nitiwul has a responsibility and duty, not only to represent them in the decision-making process in Parliament, but also to seek their welfare, which includes their safety.
Moreover, by virtue of being the Defence Minister in the current Government, he is a member of the National Security Council under article 83(1)(c) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. Among others, the functions of the National Security Council include considering and taking appropriate measures to safeguard the internal and external security of Ghana and by extension Ghanaians, as well as ensuring the collection of information relating to the security of Ghana.
Many people are asking the following questions:
i. Did Government pick up any intelligence information on the sporadic shooting in Bimbilla, which eyewitnesses say lasted for almost 24 hours?
ii. If Government did, what measures did it put in place to prevent the killing of innocent persons?
iii. Can the good people of Bimbilla, and for that matter Northern Region, have confidence and trust in the pronouncements of President Akufo Addo and his Government?
Many people in Bimbilla and parts of the Northern Region are living in fear and insecurity. Since President Akufo-Addo disclosed to Ghanaians that Hon. Dominic Nitiwul would fill the position of Defence Minister, many have questioned his choice given the historical conflicts in the region.
As a son of Dagbon and the Northern Region, I am deeply troubled by the unfortunate situation in Bimbilla. I am even more devastated at the loss of lives. Contrary to reports that suggest that three (3) people lost their lives through sporadic shooting, sources on the ground put the number of lives lost at ten (10). Whether three or ten, it is unacceptable! These lives must be properly accounted for. Thorough investigations must be conducted by the security agencies to bring all the perpetrators of these dastardly and barbaric acts to book to serve as deterrents to other trouble causers, under the guise of politics or chieftaincy.
The new Government has a great burden on its shoulders. Many were afraid that an Akufo-Addo led Government would be characterized by conflict in northern Ghana given certain historical antecedents. After all, he who has been bitten by a snake screams when he sees an earthworm. Some say that the current situation in Bimbilla vindicates their fears. I do not seek to bring to remembrance the unfortunate and gruesome acts that took place some time ago, but we cannot pretend to be oblivious of history since history essential guides us from the known to the unknown.
Nana Akufo-Addo has a huge responsibility to ensure the safety, security and protection of every law-abiding Ghanaian no matter the ethnic, religious or political group. Citizens under the same Constitution cannot be governed by different sets of rules and laws. Perpetrators of crime, whether in political, religious or chieftaincy contexts, must be treated as criminals. This is the only way to safeguard and sustain the peace and tranquility bequeathed to the current Government by the Government of President John Dramani Mahama.
As a citizen of Ghana, not a spectator or subject, it is my humble expectation that, the Interior Minister (Hon. Ambrose Dery), National Security Minister (Hon. Kan Dapaah), Minister for Defence and Member of Parliament for Bimbilla (Hon. Dominic Nitiwul) and the Minister for Chieftaincy, together with all the appropriate state security agencies will attach utmost importance to the current situation in Bimbilla – the loss of innocent lives and the destruction of property.
Ghanaians were made to believe that the creation of the position of National Security Minister, in addition to the “traditional” Interior and Defence Ministers, would ensure efficiency in delivery. However, if the reports on Bimbilla are anything to go by, then one can only ponder over the use of the tax-payers money and the safety of Ghanaians under the current administration.
It is not enough for President Akufo-Addo to keep repeating the same rhetoric while hitherto stable situations are now in turmoil. As a Government that holds itself out as the doyens of and believers in the rule of law we, the citizens, expect nothing less than total peace and stability.
by
Baba Musah
Citizen of Ghana
AKUFO, ALL DIE BE DIE UGLY DWARF 7 years ago
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NPP,, OLD MEN THIEVES ARE BACK AGAIN. THIS UGLY DWARF AND HIS GROSS INCOMPETENT TEAM Z.. COCAINE,, BUSINESS OF AKUFO,, DWARF BOOMED.
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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo … enough of the talk …
Ghanaians want Results
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on numerous occasions, assured the good people of Northern Region of his commitment to continuou ...
read full comment
NPP,, OLD MEN THIEVES ARE BACK AGAIN. THIS UGLY DWARF AND HIS GROSS INCOMPETENT TEAM Z.. COCAINE,, BUSINESS OF AKUFO,, DWARF BOOMED.