Dan Botwe
A raging hullaballoo about the choice of capitals for the newly created regions has continued to resonate across the country.
The avoidable restiveness, in our opinion and most Ghanaians, is unnecessary and unproductive: it does not serve the interest of the newly created regions and should there be stopped forthwith.
It is amazing that a subject like this can take the form it has since the announcement about the results of the referendum.
The President who listened to the demands of chiefs and other important personalities and setting in motion the process leading to the referendum as constitutionally established, must be saddened by the turn the subject has taken.
Of course, it is normal for people to get agitated, even anxious at times like these, the fear of being left out of the sharing of the goodies – the only reason behind the restlessness. But such anxiety should be managed so that the national interest is not dismally affected. After all, the President’s decision to trigger the process of creating new regions was in the national interest.
The days before yesterday have been worryingly characterized with childish threats and in some instances, unfounded fears by various interest groups.
Breaking bones over the choice of capitals should not in any way prompt the level of acrimony we are witnessing in the new regions in waiting. Yesterday the President took the next step towards the takeoff of the new regions following the referendum result including the naming of two capitals.
In the next few days, he is expected to do same for the others. Not all persons would be satisfied, their expectations having been dashed.
It would be naïve or erroneous to think that development would be confined to the regional capitals.
It is unacceptable therefore that those whose expectations have been dashed as in the case of Salaga yesterday, would embark upon the kind of vandalism recorded.
There can only be one regional capital, not two, and since there are divergent wishes, disappointments are bound to happen as they did yesterday and in the following days when others are announced.
Those whose wishes did not come to pass must accept fate and support the new regions to succeed.
Acrimonies are dangerous and could retard the progress of the new regions if we allow pettiness to overshadow the development agenda which was what informed the decision to create the new administrative blocs.
Those who breach the public order law by becoming rowdy and destructive should be sanctioned accordingly.
We have been hinted about how some political elements are exploiting the dashed hopes of regional capital expectants to cause commotion.