Our religious difference should not separate us – Catholic Priest

Reverend Father David Bangsiibu, the Parish Priest of the Tumu Catholic Church has asked the various religious groups to work together despite the differences in their doctrines for peace and unity to prevail.

He stated that the Church had always promoted peace in all its activities within the environment it operated.

Rev. Bangsiibu made the statement in Tumu when the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, Justice and Peace Commission, Diocese of Wa, (Our Lady of Lourdes Parish) Tumu held a one-day town hall meeting on the theme: “Violent extremism: Understanding the drivers and building resilience through education and dialogue".

The meeting was to dialogue with relevant stakeholders to raise awareness about violent extremism and to provide the platform to dialogue and advocate peaceful coexistence in the communities.

Rev. Bangsiibu explained the concept of radicalization among the youth and community, factors that exposed a community to violent extremism, and measures needed to minimise the threat of the menace.

The Priest underscored the need for justice in all matters saying, “Where there is no justice, peace will elude the people.”

He admonished the media to desist from promoting hate speech and urged all to refrain from the use of derogatory tags and statements among the various ethnic groups as that constituted abuse and could bread violent extremism.

Rev. Bangsiibu challenged the people to act against every abuse saying, "Our religious differences should not mean we should fight among ourselves.”

Mr Fuseini Yakubu Batong, the Sissala East Municipal Chief Executive said the area was relatively peaceful but appealed to all to continue with the mantra of “See something say something”.

He identified violent extremism as a complex phenomenon that needed the efforts of everyone and commended the security agencies in the municipality for their sense of vigilance.

He cautioned that the Municipal Security Committee (MUSEC) would not sit aloof and allow anyone to cause trouble.

"Our ears and eyes are on the ground that is why the President, Nana Akuffo Addo is ready to go the extra mile to resource the security agencies to ward off any potential threat to the security of the country, hence, the establishment of the military barracks in Tumu", Mr Batong explained.

The forum urged participants to build bridges, increase resilience through education, and engage in religious and interfaith activities to help promote peace.

It observed that strengthening good governance and human rights, fighting corruption, and creating equal opportunities for all persons would make it difficult to radicalise any group.

Kuoro Humphrey Tordia, Pieng Kuoro, who chaired the dialogue on behalf of the Paramount Chief of Tumu, reminded all about the effects of violence such as loss of lives and property.

He called for increased intelligence gathering to stop extreme violence from escalating.

"Let's try to have constant interaction with the security agencies, and the youth and avoid the use of bad language to ourselves", Kuoro Tordia advised.

He commended the security officers for the regular patrols around the communities as that kept the people confident of their security, but appealed for more security personnel and resources for the security agencies to function more effectively.

Traditional leaders, Queen mothers, representatives of women groups, religious groups, youth groups, Non-governmental Organizations, Heads of Departments, and the Fulbe community among others attended the meeting.