Let’s protect the peace

Peace is a prerequisite for development everywhere in the world, and that is why conscious efforts are made by all leaders, both temporal and spiritual, to bring people of all creeds, religious persuasions and colour to live in harmony.

On the global stage, the United Nations was formed to provide the platform for people from all walks of life to express their views on issues that bind the world.

The formation of the world body was many years ago and, although the world has not been without conflicts, we have never experienced conflict on the scale of the two World Wars.

Peace, it is said, is not the absence of war. There are other challenges such as famine, communal violence, discrimination and poverty that can equally reduce the dignity of mankind.

Ghana has experienced wars in some communities in the country, but not on the levels that had reduced some nations into failed states.

That is why the President said at a thanksgiving service last Sunday that many Ghanaians did not appreciate the development the country had seen and rather portrayed Ghana as if it were the worst country in the world.

He said God had blessed the nation and so it was important for Ghanaians to recognise God’s blessings and show gratitude.

The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, at a durbar of the chiefs and people of Aburi at the weekend, also called on traditional leaders to take appropriate measures to avoid ethnic factions and chieftaincy disputes that had the tendency to undermine the peace and unity of the country.

The minister was well aware of the almost 20-year protracted chieftaincy dispute between the Paramount Chief of Akuapem and three of his divisional chiefs who declared their secession from the stool for what they described as lack of recognition from Akropong.

Although the chiefs might have had firm reasons for their action, their move retarded progress in the area. It also reduced the pomp and pageantry associated with the Odwira Festival and other festivals in the Akuapem state.

This year’s Odwira Festival in Aburi, Larteh and Akropong have been described as the best attended gatherings in the area and that reminds us that with unity of purpose, the people can achieve a lot, even in the face of challenges.

Ghana is touted as an oasis of peace on a continent bedevilled with internecine wars, famine and poverty. We are not the richest country on the continent but we are regarded as the most peaceful on the continent and beyond.

Our democracy is a showpiece because we have conducted six elections without any major constitutional crisis.

For eight months until just last August the country went through a major test when the Supreme Court was called upon to adjudicate over an election petition.

The Daily Graphic calls on all Ghanaians to protect the peace that we are enjoying, so that we can have a conducive environment to initiate the necessary interventions to resolve our challenges and move on with nation-building.

The destiny of this country lies in our hands.

Daily Graphic/Ghana