Politicians have been advised to be mindful of their utterances to promote peace in the country, the President and Founder of Save the Nation for Future Leaders (SNFL), Kwadwo Atta Apeakorang, has stated.
He cautioned that such negative utterances posed a threat to the peace, unity, stability, cohesion and harmony prevailing in the country.
Mr Apeakorang, who gave the advice, feared that frequent negative comments by some politicians had the tendency of inciting the public who belonged to different political parties against each other.
He was speaking in a telephone interview with the Ghanaian times at the weekend in reaction to former President John Dramani Mahama’s “do-or-die” comment.
Recently, the former President was reported to have said that the National Democratic
Congress (NDC) would be extra vigilant during the 2024 elections, adding that the
2024 elections will be “a do or die” affair which triggered several mixed reactions from the public.
According to Mr Apeakorang, “it is very important for our leaders to always promote peaceful co-existence among the citizenry by living exemplary lives”.
The media, he noted, must also not encourage politicians and individuals who use their channels to promote violence because a nation can never experience socioeconomic development without ensuring that peace was prioritised in all endeavours to protect democratic governance.
Mr Apeakorang insisted that the media always had a role to play in ensuring peace, unity and stability of any country since irresponsible utterances by certain people had resulted in destroying accelerated socioeconomic development of some countries, destruction of properties and the loss of lives.
“It is time for the youth to rise up in solidarity against anything that threatened the peace, unity and cohesion of the country but looking on while issues went wrong without any condemnation is not a move in the right direction,” he said.
Mr Apeakorang admonished citizens to put politics aside and condemn what was wrong while applauding what was right, the only way a country could move forward.
BY RAISSA SAMBOU
