By Charles Agbenu
I was very sad when I read the news item the other day to the effect that –” Hundreds of residents at Krobo Odumase in the Eastern region have welcomed the Presidential Candidate of the NPP Akufo-Addo to the area with a demonstration.
The angry residents are protesting comments by staunch NPP member Samuel Atta Akyea that Akyem instead of Somanya was the best place to build the region’s first public university. The Abuakwa South MP made the comments earlier this year while speaking on an Accra-based radio station, arguing that by the sheer number of residents in the Akyem area, the university should have been in Akyimland’.
I don’t know whether the demonstrators had a permit to act. Immediately I knew that it was NDC dirty outpour of desperation as well as one of the usual provocative NDC terrible tribal games cooked from Mahama stinking cabinet against Asantes/Akyems and NPP to denigrate the party and embarrass its Presidential candidate Akufo Addo. For how long can NDC think they can ride on tribal sentiments to get political advantage in Ghana?
In any case, I have written extensively to offer my utter amazement against the NDC/Mills/Mahama decision to locate the Eastern Regional University at Somanya that:- NDC/Mahama were not fair to New Juaben community: that, Koforidua being the regional capital deserves to be given its due and be recognized as the natural location of the Eastern Regional public university just like all the other Regional capitals: that Somanya was chosen sentimentally to satisfy NDC comfort zone in the Region for votes, that Mahama/NDC are playing a damnable and expensively ethnocentric game of ‘show ER especially the Asantes and Akims where power lies’ and asked, what level and depth of consultation in the region informed that decision and whether there were inputs from the chiefs and people of the Region in the decision and finally wondered how Voltarians would have taken it if Kufuor’s government had unilaterally decided that the Volta Region University should rather have been sited at Nkwanta or Jasikan instead of Ho. Why is Mahama treating Koforidua so shabbily?
Refer:- http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Somanya-not-appropriate-for-proposed-ER-University-274887.
Obviously, among sound economic reasons, the above sentiments could have been some of the reasons Hon MP Atta Akyea adduced for wanting the University sited in Akyem and which formed a basis for his criticisms. With the NDC-inspired tribal intimidation from Kroboland, are we being told that nobody, MP or party must oppose the development of a facility in any region or area or say something about another region under any circumstances and that any such opposition should be taken as hatred for the people of that proposed particular area or region? In the same way, are we saying nobody must say anything about any region in this country? Is that where NDC want to send Ghana?
The NDC rabble rousers demanded that Akufo-Addo renders an unqualified apology to them over the Atta Akyea comment describing it as disrespectful and demeaning. NDC is clearly exploitative and intolerant and they are using Krobo land to offer this desperate challenge. Then Ghana is going to be BUTUBUTU with this NDC provocative example?
So why have Asantes not demanded that President Mahama withdraws his comments that as for Asante people they will never appreciate, even if golden roads are built for them?
Also, why have Asantes not demanded that President Mahama withdraws his disrespectful and demeaning comment that Asantes cannot pronounce r and l?
Again, why have Asantes not demanded that President Mahama renders unqualified apology to Asantes for Solomon Nkansa the NDC National propagandist’s open remarks that ‘ Asante Region dee Nkwaseasem nkoo aa na efiri ho ba’, to wit, only foolish things come from Asante Region.
Then in our setting, NDC tribalism and intimidations have reached the level whereby Candidate Akufo Ado is now prevented from campaigning for NPP in his own Region but President Mahama, a Northerner campaigns freely for NDC in Asante Region?
In other words, so NDC can say anything against Asantes, Akims and Akans and get away with it because Akans are tolerant but NPP is slapped with a tribal ban to say anything against other regions because the other tribes are intolerant?
And we say we are doing clean and fair politics. And we say we want peaceful coexistence. And NDC use Krobos to divide the country. And the Peace Council and the Police look on for these things to happen.
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