Group warns against tribal politics

The Diasporas Against Injustice (DAI), a socio-economic advocacy group, has warned against what it said was the creeping tribalism into the nation’s politics.

It said it found disturbing utterances that tended to excite ethnic passion and sentiments, noting that, if care was not taken it could trigger nasty clashes.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Mr Evans Ofori-Amanfo, its Chairman, Mr Lewis Yeboah, Secretary, Mr Peter Doudo, Organizer, and Mr Okyere Acheampong, Trustee, and made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi.

They held that Ghanaians had lived as “one people with common destiny and diverse cultural and traditional values” and that it was unacceptable for any politician to create confusion among them just for political expediency".

The group took exception to a question posed by Mr Haruna Iddirsu, Minister of Trade and Industry, during the vetting of the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Sarpong that sought to create the impression that there was conflict between Asantes and the other tribes residing in the region.

They observed that the relationship between the Asantes and their brothers and sisters from the other parts of the country had over the years been cordial and peaceful and it was therefore unfortunate for the Minister to have painted a wrong picture.

The group asked the political parties to sanction their members who incited one ethnic group against the other since that was dangerous to the peace and development of the nation.

They also appealed to the youth to shun trouble makers, especially those who would want to tear the people apart.