Ethnnic Tension Building Up In Ghana

A visit to Ghanaweb, Ghana's foremost international news provider by which most people in international locations find out about the country will make you vomit.

The level of tribal and ethnic sentiments that are being expressed on this medium speaks volumes. One can easily conclude that there is an uneasy calm over that country, and it is in the interest of the leaders of Ghana to take steps and make sure they don?t inflame tribal and ethnic passions. This may spell the doom of the country as it heads towards the 2008 general elections which some of us observing Ghana from afar think may be problematic.

The people are faceless in cyberspace; they use pseudonyms; and they speak freely. But behind this free speech are the hate messages that fly all over especially whenever there is an issue that concerns the Gas, Ewes, and the Northerners. One is tempted to believe that the Ashantis of Ghana are the most civilized among all the ethnic groups in Ghana, or so a critical examination of the messages suggest.

But in fact there is no such group in the world today. The world is made up of intelligent and good individuals, and so is it also made up of slothful and very bad individuals. Ghanaians should understand that there are no good or bad tribes or ethnic groups.

The leadership should be reminded that the very things that gave rise to the tribal annihilations in Rwanda, Sierra-Leone and the ongoing wars in Somali, Sudan and so on are all as a results of disrespect and lack of fellow feeling for some group of people. And as these things have started raising their ugly heads in Ghana, it is incumbent on us all to condemn them and draw the attention of the Ghana government to it.

Ghanaweb remains the true reflection of what is happening on the ground because it is where people are able to express themselves freely without being identified with the messages to put out.

Ghanaians should wake up and protect the peace and ensure their government does the right things to all manner of people.

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.