When the country was on the verge of despair because of the intermittent power outages and most Ghanaians had lost hope as a result of the erratic rainfall pattern from 2006 to some time in the middle of this year, the pessimists believed the problem was beyond our capabilities.
The school that believed in the use of technology to fix the challenges of our times offered their views, while believers in the Supreme Being went on their knees to seek spiritual intervention for a solution to the power crisis. Religious groups of all persuasions prayed in their places of worship, while some went to the dam site to seek divine intervention. When the problem almost got to a head, President J. A. Kufuor also visited the dam site on July 7, 2007 and stated that “God will not allow the Akosombo Dam to hang”.
Shortly thereafter, the rains set in, and coupled with the spillage of some dams in Burkina Faso, parts of the three northern regions became flooded. Houses were destroyed, farms and land submerged, causing pain and anguish to residents and citizens of the area, who had also prayed for rains to save their crops from withering, in some cases for the second time.
The government responded and also called on the international, as well as the donor, community to support the flood victims. To a large extent, the support has been overwhelming.
Some concerned citizens from the north started their advocacy on behalf of the flood victims so that the victims could be assisted to lead normal lives once again. As the processes for mobilising relief items unfolded, concerned citizens of the area felt the disaster had offered the opportunity for them to lead the efforts to marshall resources to rebuild the area.
Taking a cue from the dictum: “There is a blessing in every misfortune”, citizens of the three northern regions resident in Accra met on Sunday and raised ¢153 million to support their distressed kinsmen back home.
Our interest is not so much in the amount that was raised but the spirit behind the efforts of citizens of the three regions resident in Accra. The Chairman for the function, Dr H.A. Wemah, appealed to citizens from the three northern regions to rise up to the situation and contribute materially and financially towards the welfare of the flood victims.
The Daily Graphic has no doubt that people from the three northern regions resident in Accra are resourceful and have the wherewithal to complement the efforts of the government to reconstruct the three regions. We are mindful of deprivations in the area that have been compounded by the flood disaster, particularly when the three regions are ranked the most poorest regions in the country.
It is also a fact that even within the confines of the deprivation and beyond, we have people from the area who have the means to lead the crusade to assist in providing relief for our distressed compatriots from the three regions. Quite a sizeable number of citizens from the three regions resident in Accra can be counted among the business and political elite or heavyweights of the country.
It is refreshing that the meeting attracted attendance across the political divide because of the realisation that the challenges of the time have no political colour and that all hands were needed on deck to put the smiles back on the faces of the flood victims.
The Daily Graphic calls on all citizens of the three northern regions who are endowed with some resources to assist in the reconstruction efforts. We also appeal to all Ghanaians of goodwill not to leave the problem for our brothers and sisters from the north. The challenges transcend regional or ethnic boundaries, since the three regions constitute a major food basket of the country. The consequences of the flood disaster include a possible food deficit which the whole country would face next year and the finest opportunity has come for all of us to give our widow’s mite.
Let those of us who were spared the agony of the flood disaster but who are beneficiaries of the misfortune of the three regions rally behind the initiative of the citizens of the north and support them to give hope to our brothers and sisters who have been devastated by the floods.
The Daily Graphic salutes the initiative of the citizens of the three regions resident in Accra and encourage them to stay focused on their mission in order to motivate and touch others to donate generously. If the focus remains development-oriented, this initiative will become the main platform to make meaningful contributions to efforts to narrow the gulf in living conditions between the northern and the southern sectors sooner than later.
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