Put A Stop To Tribalism - Govt

...No Chief is Superior; No ethnic group is Inferior
The government has appealed to Ghanaians to ensure that the unity of the nation is not compromised for parochial interests.

It noted that in recent times, numerous advertisements had apeared in the print media extolling the supposed superiority or greatness of tribes, clans, kingdoms etc. at the expense of the “weakness” or “inferiority” of others. It made references to a publication in The Chronicle of September 9, 2003, extolling the greatness of the Okyenhene and the Akyems at the expense of others.

This was followed by a reaction in the Graphic of October 16, 2003, purporting to debunk the claims of the “Akyem” article and extolling the greatness of the Asantehene and Asantes over others. The government’s reaction was contained in a statement issued in Accra on Wednesday, signed by Nana Akomea, the Minister of Information.

It noted that the article on Akyems was followed by yet another one in the Graphic of November 10, 2003, purporting to debunk the Asante claims and extolling the greatness of the GaDagbme through victories over the Asante.

The statement pointed out that while those sorts of articles might feed into some tribalistic feeling of some individuals or groups, they gave cause for alarm.

Aside from the expense, these articles and their tenor did not advance the cause of unity and cohesion of our nation, Ghana. “It is very true that every group, tribe, clan or people, had periods of inspiration or even greatness in their histories spanning the centuries”, it said.

However, extolling jingoistic satisfaction was not the way to celebrate such period of history, as other groups also had moments of history that a jingoist can interpret to his satisfaction. “It is rather how we as a nation, are able to weave group greatness into a collective greatness and be inspired by the feeling of collective greatness, that we can maximise the benefits in terms of cohesion and unity of purpose for our national growth.”

It, therefore, appealed to all Ghanaians to always look for the general in particular and also urged newspapers to be circumspect in accepting or publishing such jingoistic articles. “While it is good for us to acknowledge our roots at all times, a recognition that we have a bigger root called Ghana, is better strategy in establishing ourselves in the fast globalising world”, the statement emphasised.