The Mamprugu youth in Bawku, a municipality in the Upper East Region, have distanced themselves from a group said to have declared its stance in the area against the move by the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new voters’ register ahead of the 2020 polls.
According to the Mamprugu youth, the group is a disguised creation of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) unleashed to pursue an anti-EC agenda and the contents of a statement it issued recently about the new voters’ roll constitute a threat to the “relative peace” the once-troubled municipality has appreciated for a long while now.
“We deem it a responsibility to draw your attention as well as all peace-loving Ghanaians to the reckless and unwarranted statement issued on 9th June, 2020, by a phony group called the ‘Coalition of Concerned Youth of all Ethnic Groups in the Kusaug Kingdom” which has the tendency of derailing the relative peace enjoyed by residents of the area. We the Mamprugu youth dissociate ourselves from this statement, which resorts to using unlawful means of resolving issues already pending in the Supreme Court.
“We are not in the jungle. We have passed that era where people take the law into their own hands. We would like to state categorically that the real threat to the peace and stability of Bawku is the action of the so-called Coalition of Concerned Youth of all Ethnic Groups and not the compilation of a new voters’ register by the Electoral Commission,” the Mamprugu youth stated at a news conference held Saturday in Bawku.
Highlights of the counter-statement
The conveners of the news conference did some critique of the statement said to have been released earlier in the month by the alleged multiethnic group and came to a strong conclusion that the security agencies, particularly the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC), should pay a priority attention to what the group stood for and what it stood against.
The Mamprugu youth contested an alleged reference to Bawku as “Kusaug Kingdom” by the group in its press statement. The youth claimed the “official name of the Bawku skin is the Bawku Traditional Council and not Kusaug Kingdom”. They further argued that “no traditional history book has records of a supposed kingdom called ‘Kusaug Kingdom’ since the establishment of the Bawku skin (chieftaincy) by the great 10th Nayiri Ali Atabia in the 18th century.”
The youth also pointed the finger at the coalition for reportedly including in its statement names of some people as signatories to the document without the foreknowledge of the individuals.
“Some of these people later came openly to issue a disclaimer. This is enough to prove how dangerous these youth are [as] they are determined to attain their objective by any means even if it has to be through forgery or violent means.
“It is our candid view that their daring statement, ‘The compilation of a new voters’ register will, therefore, have serious repercussions on the peace we are currently enjoying in the Kusaug Kingdom’, is a decoy employed by frustrated elements of a political party hiding under the cloak of ethnicity to ignite conflict in the Bawku area because they are faced with a looming defeat in the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections. This is the only plausible explanation for [this behaviour of theirs] because no right-minded person can fathom how the compilation of a new voters’ register by the constitutionally mandated body (Electoral Commission) will have serious repercussions on the peace of the area,” the counter-statement said, adding, “We humbly ask: what does the EC’s business have to do with threat [to the] peace we are currently enjoying in Bawku and its environs?”
Hold Coalition responsible for any disturbances— Mamprugu youth to MUSEC
The conveners of the Saturday’s presser told the journalists present they had, in a bid to maintain the peace of the area, officially notified the Bawku Divisional Police Headquarters about the statement issued by the coalition. They asked the MUSEC to hold the coalition responsible should any disturbances erupt in the municipality.
“We call on the MUSEC, which is tasked with the responsibility of maintaining peace, order and stability to conduct extensive surveillance on the conveners of the purported coalition and to hold them accountable if any unfortunate disturbance affects the serenity of the town. We the Mamprugu youth in Bawku would like to reiterate our commitment to ensuring peace and stability in Bawku and we will guide and guard it with all legal means at our disposal.
“We, as law-abiding citizens, will cooperate with relevant state agencies to ensure peaceful and smooth registration exercise. We all know clearly that the EC, as enshrined [in] the 1992 Constitution under Article 45 (a), is mandated to compile a register of voters and revise it at such periods as may be determined by law. We vehemently support this legally constituted body to carry out its lawful duties and we do not have any misgivings about its work,” the conveners stressed in the statement delivered by a representative, Marwan Zanya Bugri.
The Chief of the Mamprugu Youth in Bawku (Nachinaa), Tahiru Wuni Bugri, and the Secretary to the Mamprugu youth wing of the area, Majeed Bagura, backed the EC to compile a new voters’ register for the general elections and urged everyone in the municipality and its environs to promote peace and harmony.
By Edward Adeti, Journalist, Upper East region – Daily Mail GH
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