Politics Should Be About Nationalism, Not Tribalism: Amoako Tufuor

ANTHONY KARO: NPP Nat. Youth Organiser LUDWIG HLODZE: NDC Nat. Youth Organiser
A leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Kwame Amoako Tufuor has challenged the Ghanaian youth to eschew the politics of tribalism, and rather promote the politics of nationalism, as the former will only spell the doom of what would have been a promising future.
He advised them not to be allowed to be hood-winked by some mischievous political contractors who crowd in corners with cases of Cedis, offering mouth watering political appointments, who only crave to use them to cause ethnic political mischief.
According to Dr. Amoako-Tufuor, the youth since time immemorial have been an integral part of a country’s democratic build-up, influencing in no small way which direction the nation will go. Political icons like DR. J. B Danquah, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, and Kenneth Kaunda, who today are described as trail blazers in African and international politics, started very early in their youth and chalked enviable successes because they did not allow themselves to be entrapped by nation-wreckers who professed to be political nationalists.
Dr. Amoako Tufuor recalled how he formed the National Progressive Union (NPU) to make the right noise to protect the rights of the individual against autocracy and tyranny. Activities of that political movement led to the challenge of the Liman government’s dismissal of then Chief Justice, Justice F. Y. Apaloo.
According to Dr. Tufuor, though the Chief Justice at the time was an Ewe, that did not deter him from striving to protect the integrity of the Judiciary, an institution which is at the heart of every nation’s democracy.
Justice Apaloo’s legal team was led by then young and incredibly intelligent Nana Addo –Dankwa Akufo-Addo (an Akan and now presidential candidate of the NPP), ably assisted by Tsatsu-Tsikata (an Ewe and leading member of the NDC). They were going against Attorney-General Joe Reindorf (a Ga) who was appointed by President Dr. Hilla Liman (from up North).
For Dr. Tufuor, the significance of the above event was the fact that when the youth at the fore front of Ghana’s politics identified the arbitrary dismissal of the Chief Justice as a threat to Ghana’s democracy, they threw away their political, ethnic and tribal cloaks, and came together to fight the common enemy.
Dr Amoako Tufuor also urged the youth to speak out against the arbitrary victimization of civil and public servants, for the sake of political expediency as this can in the long run, undermine the neutrality and efficiency of the Civil Service.
Since coming into Office in 2009, the government of President Atta Mills has caused the interdiction of a number of civil servants, in some instances either because they assisted in exposing some corrupt appointees or some other politically expedient reason.
The former Chief Director and Principal Accountant of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Mr. A. A. Ampong and Mr. Odoom who were wrongfully interdicted for exposing then Minister Muntaka for spending huge sums of tax payers money on Khebab, pampers, and a visa for his girlfriend, comes to mind.
BY YAW P. K. MANU