The Ghanaian Minaret

Accra – The Imam of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent of Police (SUPOL), Husein AbdurRahim Husein has urged community leaders to readily call on the police to assist in dealing with groups that have the potential of causing mayhem during elections.

Prior to engaging the police, however, he encouraged community leaders especially religious leaders to embark on initiatives that will promote dialogue between such groups and other community leaders with the aim of ensuring peaceful elections.

“When we believe that these are spots that can create a problem for us, we have done our best and we are not having solutions, it is important we engage the police.

“Let them know that this what we suspect or it is possible this group or that group maybe violent during the election,” he said.

The Senior Officer was speaking in Accra at a ‘Religious Leaders Action and Support for Peaceful Election’ programme organised by the Light Foundation in collaboration with STAR-Ghana Foundation.

He emphasised the need for community leaders “to give the youth a voice” and also help members of groups with violent tendencies seek alternative livelihoods since “there are people who for them it is all about the purchasing power and when you give them money, they will go cause mayhem”.

Among the dignitaries present at the programme was the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu who advised against the politics of insults and violence which could jeopardise the peace in the country.

He noted that Allah has been good to Ghana as a nation and therefore the only way Ghanaians could show gratitude to the almighty for his blessings was to stay peaceful.

“If we engage in violence, it means we have not given regard to the peace we have enjoyed in this country. As Ghanaians, we must proclaim to the world that we are a people given peace by God,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of STAR-Ghana, Amidu Ibrahim Tanko said peace was a long-term process that could be hindered by lack of education, lack of development and non-inclusiveness in decision-making.

He observed that good education and not violence have been the metrics for rewarding the loyalty of party sympathisers and so urged the youth to focus on building their intellectual capacity so as to enable them to serve their nation better.

“When the party wins and they are sharing the honours and glory, they don’t ask you how many battles did you fight, how many people did you slap or how many stones did you throw. They ask you where is your certificate” he said.

The programme was chaired by the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana Reverend Dr Cyril Fayose under the theme, “Let’s live together, Let’s Live Peacefully”.