IT is refreshing that chiefs from northern Ghana have assured the nation of their willingness to contribute towards the promotion of peace in the area.
Coming at a time when some deviants from the area have given northern Ghana a bad name by their frequent resort to violence to seek redress for their grievances, the rest of Ghanaians can only heave a sigh of relief and encourage the chiefs to pursue this agenda to the letter.
Sometimes worrying signals from the three regions in the north give the impression that Ghana is on the brink of violence, following on the experiences of failed states in the sub-region and beyond.
What makes the situation more frustrating is the fact that when the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) was conducted, those three regions were found to be the most deprived in the country. Therefore, the least we expect from its citizens is that they would give peace a chance so that law-abiding citizens can go about their duties without let or hindrance.
Northern Ghana can be the bread basket of the country if the necessary incentives and inputs are provided for the people to cultivate the land. Whenever the rains are good and the people till the land, the harvest has been good for crops such as tomatoes, rice, millet, sorghum, yams, groundnuts and beans.
Presently, tomato farmers are faced with a glut because the market is incapable of absorbing the excess production relative to the demand for the produce. We want to remind the people that they can reap the benefits of their sweat only in an atmosphere of peaceful co-existence.
Ghana’s Constitution has elaborate mechanisms for seeking redress, even to the highest court of the land. The procedure can be cumbersome, time and money consuming, but those who believe in the rule of law have obtained justice even in some delicate cases.
It is against this background that the DAILY GRAPHIC encourages our brothers and sisters up north to tolerate one another, even in extreme cases of provocation, and those who feel that their rights have been trampled upon should not adopt self-help approaches to the problem. That option is objectionable and can only result in violence, leading to the destruction of lives and property.
We are a great nation with a common destiny and the potential to attain economic prosperity. For this reason, we must unite in our resolve to break the back of poverty, disease and squalor.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on the chiefs to get their people also committed to the pledge that they have made to promote peace in the area so that collectively they can seek solutions to the development challenges facing the north.
Much as the commitment expressed by the chiefs to peace is a useful step, we call on them to go beyond the expression of intent to take concrete action, such as the setting up of mechanisms to ensure early detection of conflicts, so that they can douse the flames before they become uncontrollable fires.
Furthermore, they should be mindful of the utterances and activities of some politicians who may want to use them during this political season to achieve their political objectives by taking advantage of any misunderstanding among the people to stoke the fires of conflict.
The DAILY GRAPHIC makes a passionate appeal to people from the north to rally behind their chiefs to re-brand the north for further advancement.
For now, we doff our hats in support of the commitment of the chiefs, but they must remember that action speaks louder than words.
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