Political leaders should stop causing chaos

Mr Bombande said: “It's that which binds us together than what divides us and never go onto that path which is a slippery role of reinforcing a divide which then has a tendency to bring us problems that we could easily avoid and are completely unnecessary.”

He reiterated the need for political leaders to restrain themselves by seeing themselves as national leaders.

“When you are a national leader, whether you are in government or in opposition, it is not the issue because the idea of democracy and the reason why we have an opposition is that the opposition is so organised and respected that it can form a government; that is why we want a country in which democracy means that we have a government that is responsive to all the credentials of good governance and while that government is working, there is an opposition that works also with the government in constructive criticisms and accountability processes that complete the cycle of democracy," he said.

Mr Bombande said these when he spoke to Citi News at the opening ceremony of WANEP’s 12th General Assembly meeting in Accra on Tuesday.

The three-day event was on the theme: Strengthening the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework Through National Architectures for Early Warning and Early Response.

Mr Bombande announced his decision to make way for others to occupy his position as WANEP’s longest serving Executive Director for 12 years.

Also present was the Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E Dr Toga Gayewea McIntosh, who commended WANEP’s international partners for supporting the peace activities within the ECOWAS region.

He said the strategic role played by civil society organisations, and especially WANEP, in maintaining peace in the sub region could not be underestimated.

Dr McIntosh lauded the theme for the event, saying: “The theme for this meeting, the composition of those gathered here, the timing and the purpose cannot be overemphasised.”

He said: “Just three weeks ago, at the Summit of Heads of State and Government, issues related to regional peace and security dominated their discussions and major decisions towards moving the process forward were made.”

The participants were drawn from WANEP’s operational zones within the sub region.