Resolve chieftaincy disputes in the interest of peace - Justice Crabbe admonishes Ga traditional leaders
A retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice VCRAC Crabbe, has asked traditional leaders in the Ga state to take steps to resolve chieftaincy disputes within the state in the interest of peace and development.
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He said the continued presence of such difficulties derailed development in the Ga state and hindered national progress.
"It is worrying that the Ga state which is an indigenous ethnic extraction in Ghana is without a legitimate Ga Mantse. In this current state, our forward march will be a mirage as there will be no legacy for future generations to emulate," he said.
The celebrated lawyer was speaking at the maiden lecture and launch of the Ga Dangme Think Tank Group, a network of persons of Ga Dangme descent, in Accra yesterday.
The event was dubbed, "Ga Dangme: our heroes, our heritage”, and was attended by personalities of Ga Dangme descent from across the world.
Key personalities that graced the occasion included renowned stateman and former diplomat, Professor K.B. Asante, and the Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mrs Elizabeth Kwatsoo Tetteh Sackey.
Unity
Justice Crabbe observed that the time had come for all Ga persons of prominence to rise up and seek the well-being of Ga people particularly and the country at large.
"We can only have a strong nation if we have united and strong ethnic groups and families that aspire to a common national goal," he said.
Youth empowerment
Justice Crabbe expressed regret and disappointment at the extent to which Ga Dangme youth disregarded education, stressing that there was no way the country could benefit from the Ga state if it failed to invest in the education of its youth.
He, therefore, charged traditional authorities in the Ga state to put in place deliberate mechanisms that would encourage the youth to embrace education.
For his part, Prof. Asante, who shared in the call for unity among traditional leaders in the Ga Dangme state, said it was important for emphasis to be placed on formal education as a weapon to break all development barriers.
He bemoaned the fast rate at which the youth, particularly Ga Dangme youth, were losing grasp of their ethnic dialects.
"The Ga language faces potential extinction because even in marketplaces in Accra, it is not used," he said.
Culture
Prof. Asante said the youth ought to be supported by the elderly to know and understand the culture and traditions of the Ga people since it formed the basis of their development.
The Chairman of the Ga Dangme Think Tank Group, Nii Okule Apesar III, said the formation of the group was in response to a call for a viable platform that would chart a progressive movement for the development of the Ga state.
"The Ga Dangmes need a new crop of heroes because we can no longer rely on our current heroes who are now old and worn out. We need heroes for this generation or else we will soon have no heroes to talk about," he said.