Alban Kingsford Sumani Bagbin, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Presidential Aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has expressed worry over the spate of violence in the country.
It could be recalled that about eight people sustained gun shot wounds during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election when some armed security personnel indiscriminately fired gun shots at electorates in a polling station during the by-elections.
President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has set up a Commission of Inquiry chaired by Justice Emile Short to probe the incident and deliver their findings on the issue.
On Monday, February 18, 2019, some members of NDC vigilante group 'tthe Hawks' fired gun shots at two members of a taskforce of the party during a high-profile meeting between the party's National and Regional executives.
The shooting incident left NDC member, Wasihu Idrisu dead when a suspect nicknamed “Warrior”, a member of 'the Hawks' attacked the deceased and reportedly shot him 6 times.
Addressing the issues in an interview with host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', Mr. Alban Bagbin called on State institutions to begin an intensive education on political violence in order to discourage Ghanaians from engaging in such acts.
He blamed the upsurge of violence in the country on the lack of education and also the fact that politicians do not practice the unity and tolerance they preach about.
“We have consigned some State institutions into nothingness, like the NCCE, which is to assist us educate Ghanaians about what democracy actually means in practice, not in theory and that people must know that they’re built-in contradictions in democracy. We need competition and competition creates tension and it can lead to conflict and violence but that is built in, institutionalized in democracy . . . People must be educated to know that so they can have the patience and tolerance to listen to other views to be able to accept it . . . We all know diversity is the spice of life but one thing is clear . . . Whatever you do, you do it for yourself. That is to the individual and that is to the nation. And so please, let’s practice what we preach,” he said.
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