Supt. Husein Abdur Rahim Husein
Police have urged residents and community leaders to be on the lookout for groups that have the potential to cause mayhem during this year’s election and alert the police accordingly.
Imam of the Ghana Police Service, Supt. Husein Abdur Rahim Husein, said community leaders must be vigilant and report “suspicious activities” of violent groups in their area for prompt action.
Speaking at a “Religious Leaders Action and Support for Peaceful Election” programme in Accra, organized by the Light Foundation in collaboration with STAR-Ghana Foundation, Supt. Husein also appealed to community and religious leaders to promote peaceful dialogue among community groups as part of effort to ensure a peaceful election.
“Engage the police if you believe that there are spots that can create a problem for us and you have been unsuccessful in finding solutions,” he stated.
He wants community leaders to guide the youth and also help members of groups with tendency to engage in violence find alternative livelihoods, since “for some people it is all about the purchasing power and when you give them money, they are ready to do your bidding.”
The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, who graced the programme, admonished the people against the politics of insults and violence, asserting that such acts had the propensity to jeopardise the peace of the country.
For him, Allah has been good to Ghana as a nation and the only way Ghanaians can show gratitude for his blessings is to protect peace and live in harmony.
“If we engage in violence, it means we have not given regards to the peace we have enjoyed in this country. As Ghanaians, we must proclaim the world that we are a people who have been given peace by God,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of STAR-Ghana, Amidu Ibrahim Tanko, said peace was a long-term process that could be hindered by lack of education and development as well as non-inclusiveness in decision making.
He observed that good education had been metrics for rewarding loyalty of party sympathisers and so urged the youth to focus on building their intellectual capacity in order to guarantee them the opportunity to serve the nation.
“When the party wins and they are sharing the honours and the glory, they don’t ask you how many battles you fought or how many people you slapped or the many stones you threw. They ask you: where is your certificate?” He stated.
The programme was held on the theme “Let’s Live Together, Let’s Live Peacefully” and was chaired by the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr. Cyril Fayose.
By Issah Mohammed