The Executive Director of Stranek-Africa, Nii Tettey Tetteh, has condemned the recent upsurge in ethnocentric pronouncements in public discourse by various political actors.

Tetteh called for a cease-fire between political parties and urged them to focus on issues that affect the majority of Ghanaians, according to a statement.

‘The silence of those who must speak and act to condemn the creeping acts of ethnocentrism which have the potential to plunge this country into conflict and derail our progress’, the statement read.

‘Ethnocentrism is a major cause of conflicts in Africa. You may recall that one of the devastating conflicts in Rwanda in 1994 between the Tutsi and Hutus resulted in the massacre of 800,000 people mainly Tutsis.

‘One of the unique things that set Ghana apart from other countries is our ability to live together in peace and harmony despite our ethnic and religious diversity. The beauty of this is that we have lived together in harmony, attend churches, mosques, and school to the extent that there is a high rate of intermarriages among citizens.

‘Let us as Ghanaians come together, shun and chastise people who make such comments because we are one people. No tribe is superior to the other and that is why Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution provides every citizen of Ghana equal rights no matter the race, place of origin, colour, religion, creed or gender’.

He noted that his organisation, with other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), will set up a monitoring mechanism to name, shame, and even consider legal action against anyone who engages in any act of ethnocentrism or tribal bigotry.

Source: Ghana Web

Photo source: Ghana Web