K.B Asante
Elder statesman K.B Asante is appalled at what he refers to as the whipping up of tribal sentiments by leading political figures in the country.
Asante, a diplomat par excellence, says the ethnic sentiments being peddled by some politicians three weeks to the elections only leaves the country more polarised.
His call comes after a week of heated exchanges by the leaders of the two leading political parties in Ghana, the governing National Democratic Congress and the opposition New Patriotic Party.
President John Mahama told supporters in the Upper East Region that their best bet for president is a candidate from the north and he represents their interest better than the NPP who cannot and will not give a northerner any opportunity to lead their party, let alone to become a president.
He said the NDC is a party that gives opportunities to all and that he, from Bole, a small town in the Northern Region has been given the opportunity to lead the NDC and the country, something that can never happen in the NPP.
President Mahama chided the NPP, accusing the leadership of hounding the suspended chairman Paul Afoko because of his Northern descent.
The running mate of the New Patriotic Party has reacted to the president saying, John Mahama is not a good example of a president northerners should be proud of.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia also told supporters in the Upper East Region that a northern president that presides over corruption and supervises the running down of SADA, a policy initiative that was supposed to develop the north, cannot be said to have the best interest of the people of the north at heart.
He said John Mahama has given northerners a bad name, and that northerners have now become associated with corruption, something that was never the case before John Mahama became president.
The comments by both leaders have been criticised by sections of the political divide.
Speaking to Joy News Francis Abban, the Elder statesman who served in the first republic under Dr Kwame Nkrumah said any “sensible, true politician” cannot whip up ethnic sentiments just so he will become president.
He said such comments and conduct by the political leaders “reflect a lack of political understanding” by persons making such comment.
KB Asante said Ghana is still a nation united by tribes and the least anyone could is to unite the various tribes and to tear them apart.
“We should stop it; we must fight for a united nation. The moment we start thinking about northerners, Akyems, Gas, we are disintegrating the country,” he said.
-Myjoyonline