A group calling itself “Peace for Savannah” has rebuked the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for supposedly promoting tribal and ethnic sentiments in the country’s body politic ahead of the 2020 general elections.
The group contends that Mr Mahama’s recent alleged ethnocentric comments send strong signals in stoking divisions among ethnic groups in the country in an unacceptable manner as far as the country’s democracy is concerned.
John Mahama has come under intense pressure for reposting an opinion piece that tagged certain officials of the governing New Patriotic Party as “Akyem Sakawa mafias” on his social media page.
In a statement signed by the convenor of Peace for Savannah, members of the association warned that it was time former President, John Mahama and the NDC realised the people of the Savannah Region and Gonjaland will no longer fall for any tribal politics.
“The people of Gonjaland are not tribal bigots. They are very much awake and discerning. Undoubtedly, former President John Dramani Mahama is our own. We are not disowning him at all. The people of Gonjaland pushed him to the top, so he will get us development. He was never taught by our Chiefs and elders how to insult and cast aspersions at other tribes. To be straight on the point, his insult on the good people of Akyem was unfortunate and backward. As sons and daughters of Gonjaland, we would not also be happy should anybody single us out and heap insults on us just because a Gonja is the flagbearer of the NDC. We will not take it and shall take the same up if it ever occurs.”
The statement further added: “the tribal bigotry must end. From 2008 when former president Mahama was nominated as the running mate to the flagbearer of the NDC to date, the NDC has been on us to vote for them because of our brother, former President Mahama. We have religiously followed through their call and voted massively for the NDC but nothing good came to the Gonja Kingdom in return. Almost all our roads were unmotorable, many of our youth were unemployed, the Savannah region was the least in terms of access to electricity and worst of it, they never demonstrated a dot of political will and commitment to the realization of the almost four decades dream of the people of Gonjaland having its own administrative region and the almighty perennial water problem in Damongo, the seat of the Gonja kingdom lingered on unattended to.”
Source: GhanaFeed.Com
