Stay away from negative activities during election
A surviving member of the 1948 riots, Mr Joseph Ashitey Hammond, has asked Ghanaians to be patriotic and stay away from negative attitudes that could disrupt the peace of the country, especially in this election year.
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The 89-year-old ex-serviceman has also called on the public to avoid tribalism, corruption and suppression of minority groups in the society, saying such tendencies gave rise to agitations and insecurity in the country.
“It is rather unfortunate that the patriotism, sense of belongingness, nationalism and togetherness that hold Ghanaians together is fast eroding and giving way to ethnicity, greed and exploitation of the poor and vulnerable.
“Those of us who laid down our lives to set the tone for Ghana’s independence, especially my colleague ex-servicemen such as Private Odartey, Sergeant Adjetey and Corporal Attipoe, deserve the honour of a peaceful country,” he added.
Mechanisms for peace
Mr Hammond, who made the call when he visited the Daily Graphic last Tuesday, said the struggle for power among political parties must not be at the expense of national unity and peaceful co-existence.
In that regard, he called on all political parties to put in place internal mechanisms to restrain their members and sympathisers from engaging in any act that could plunge the country into violence.
Recounting the events of February 28,1948, which came to be known as the 1948 riots in the country’s political history, he observed that the country went through a difficult period in the struggle for independence and that it was unacceptable for anyone to mortgage the peace in the country for one’s parochial interest.
Bad conditions
Mr Hammond said it was sad that the very reasons for which the ex-servicemen confronted the British colonial authority in the country on that historic day had worsened.
“Governments have come and gone, but issues of poor conditions of service, preferential treatment at workplaces, lack of accommodation for the poor, poor roads, among others, are getting worse by the day. When proper measures are not taken to address these issues, the masses will feel aggrieved and this could trigger violence,” he added.
He called for national platforms to be created to celebrate people who toiled to defend the sovereignty of the state, adding that it was through such initiatives that other citizens would be motivated to put the country’s interests first.