Dr Mustapha Abdul Hamid addressing stakeholders
The Minister for Inner Cities and Zongo Development, Dr Mustapha Abdul Hamid, has advised politicians, who are in the habit of using Zongo youth to foment political violence, to rather use their relatives for that purpose.
He said the youth should engage in violence if those asking them to do so have their relatives at the forefront.
Speaking at the formal launch of the Zongo Sensitisation Programme on Peace, Non-Violence and Development, the minister said the time had come for leaders in the various Zongo communities to rise up and stop politicians from using their places as recruitment centres for thugs or vigilantes for political violence.
He advised that the youth should not be blinded by party loyalty and take the law into their own hands, saying “when they come to you, ask the politicians to bring their sons and their daughters too. In fact, the politician’s son should lead the attack since it’s a good thing for them.”
He also stressed the need to do away with all narcotic dens in the communities with the support of opinion leaders and security agencies.
The CHRAJ Boss, Joseph Whittal, who was at the event, said that the opinion leaders can lead the effort to stop the Zongo youth from becoming vigilantes.
He urged the youth to be more development-oriented and empower themselves towards good education, improved sanitation, among others.
Mr Whittal also advised stakeholders to shun early marriages which, according to him, are prevalent in Zongo communities. “We cannot continue the age-old practice of neglecting the education of the girl-child. We don’t have to marry her off too early,” he stressed.
Lt Col Umar Sanda Ahmed (Rtd), a former Ambassador to Egypt, on his part, attributed vigilantism to ‘improper parenting’ – a situation where children at an early stage are not provided with proper education and family support.
The children, he said, become vulnerable and are easily recruited to engage in deviant behaviours when they grow up.
The stakeholders’ forum, which was organised by the Greater Accra Council of Zongo Chiefs, was attended by some prominent Zongo chiefs and personalities.
Also present was the National Imam of the Ahlussuna Wal Jamaa’a (ASWAJ) Hajj Umar Ibrahim.
By Issah Mohammed