The late Wasihu Idrisu
The family of Wasihu, who was slain when one National Democratic Congress (NDC) vigilante group descended upon another in Kumasi, is very angry.
Of course, they must be, having lost a family member in a matter which is hinged upon local NDC politics and nothing else. Avoidable as the death was, it is lamentable that the political big shots of the party the groups are aligned to and in whose interests the periodic yet bloody and even fatal encounters occur hardly do anything beyond providing a few cedis for funerals of those who lose their lives.
The procedure has been undertaken over time. Top party personalities show up during the funerals of persons who died for them to sympathise with the bereaved families. That is the end of the show of sympathy. Children of the deceased who are promised free education to the university level don’t often have the promises made to them fulfilled.
Shouldn’t that send a message to the youth and their parents that it is not worth the trouble joining vigilante groups to fight the cause of politicians?
Fighting for the progress of the nation through productive ventures is more appropriate than spilling blood for political leaders. Engaging in criminal activities which can end in fatalities should be discouraged by parents and opinion leaders. When parents concentrate on the education of their children, nobody can hire them to go and die for politicians. Now that the free SHS agenda is at full throttle, there is no excuse not to be educated and, therefore, see the light and shun bait from politicians to go and fight for them.
Even as parents and family members of the deceased demand action from the NDC, let them consider the importance of counselling their children to steer away from stupid bravado of vigilantism which can easily end up like the Wasihu episode.
While the pain of the family is understandable, we nonetheless do not share in the mayhem which the opposition party is fond of unleashing upon the Garden City.
Seeking justice demands patience and so we ask that even as the family expresses its disquiet about the uncaring attitude of the NDC towards their plight, let that be done in a manner which does not raise the temperature of Kumasi.
We know tension is high in the city but that should not make us lose our heads and engage in further bloodshed such as the one which claimed the life of Wasihu.
The police in the Ashanti Region must be on top of the security in their jurisdiction. The region is suffering a second spate of lawlessness within a fortnight – the first being the Dagomba Line incident. Although the latter was non-political, it has added to the statistics of lawlessness in the region.