Emulate the example of Nigeria — Chissano
A former President of Mozambique, Mr Joaquim Chissano, has urged African countries yet to hold their national elections to emulate the fair play exhibited by Nigeria in the just-ended general elections to ensure the sustenance of peace and stability on the continent.
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He congratulated General Mahamudu Buhari, the President-elect, Mr Goodluck Jonathan, the outgoing President, and the people of Nigeria on ensuring peace after the elections.
"This gesture of fair play should be replicated in all forthcoming elections in Africa," he reiterated.
Mr Chissano was delivering his final lecture on the topic: "Leadership and Conflict Resolution in Africa" to climax the three-day annual African Leadership Lectures series organised by the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale on Saturday.
The lectures were climaxed with a special congregation by the UDS to confer a doctorate degree on Mr Chissano, for his exemplary leadership which had transformed Mozambique, making him to win the Mo Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership, and four other distinguished personalities who played key roles in the establishment of the UDS and its growth.
Conflict resolution mechanisms
Mr Chissano further commended Mr Jonathan for graciously accepting defeat and Gen. Buhari for his show of magnanimity to ensure that peace prevailed in their country and said he hoped that this would be emulated in other African countries in their pending national elections to prevent violent conflicts on the continent.
He also commended the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the various roles it had played in the peaceful resolution of conflicts in the sub-region.
He called on African leaders to put in place early warning systems for conflict detection, prevention and management so as to ensure a conflict-free society which had been the bane of Africa's quest to socio-economic development.
Mr Chissano also stressed the need for strong leadership in Africa and urged the leaders to abide by the principles of democracy, good governance, rule of law and social justice to avoid the breakdown of law and order on the continent.
The former Mozambican President identified the preferential treatment of one ethnic group to the other, structural inequalities, weak governance systems, among others, as the source of major conflicts in Africa and urged its leaders to embrace conflict prevention mechanisms.
Commendation
The Chairman of the Governing Council of the UDS, Dr A. B. Salifu, who chaired the lecture series, in his remarks, reiterated the critical role the media played in national development and information dissemination which was key to the development process.
"We are happy that there has been a proliferation of media houses, especially radio and print media, within the past two decades in Ghana. This is expected to enhance media pluralism and ensure citizens’ participation in discussions on national and local issues," he noted,
Dr Salifu, however, regretted the current state of the use of the media, especially radio discussions, which has become an avenue for insults, falsehood and regular attacks on persons, especially political opponents, leading to deep polarisation of the Ghanaian society on political lines, with the potential spillover to religious and tribal mistrust.