FOR several years Tamale had been a peaceful city. People of various ethnic backgrounds and nationalities found the city as a suitable place for their stay and business activities.
In fact, Tamale is a place where traditional African hospitality is at its best, because the indigenes of Tamale welcome and treat visitors better than they treat themselves.
However, due to the activities of some politicians, Tamale lost its peaceful status after 2002 when the city was rocked by series of political violence with ethnic and chieftaincy undertones.
Although the city has regained its status at peaceful city, its image seems to have been dented heavily by the isolated incidents of violence that occurred.
The same can be said about Bawku. In his book, ‘A Sense of Savannah – Tales of a friendly walk through Northern Ghana’, Kofi Akpabli describes Bawku as a place that possesses “the indifference of New York” and “the business savvy of Kumasi.”
He proceeds to mention that the area should have one of the highest per capita in Ghana because it is a beehive of commerce and a fulcrum of economic activity by traders from Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.
In spite of these positives, the town seem to have been painted negatively in the minds of people who live outside the town just because of some violent activities that took place in the area over a period of time.
Indeed, Tamale and Bawku are not the only cities that have attracted negative press and commentary as a result of some repeated incidents of violence in these areas.
What is clear in all these violent incidents is the involvement of the youth. Young political activists are mostly used by the experienced ones to carry out violent activities to serve their interests, some of which are inextricably linked to ethnicity.
In their bid to get attention from political leaders, who are believed to be influential in giving jobs and monetary hand-outs, the youth become vulnerable to all manner of abuses, including being used for violent purposes.
It is unfortunate that some politicians are willing to go to greater lengths just to capture political power. They care less about the trails of destruction and strained relationship they leave behind.
Although it is clear that issues of ‘bread and butter’ are the main drivers of the youth’s involvement in political violence, it would be wrong for our leaders to fold their arms and watch as the youth are destroyed.
As the 2012 elections draw nearer and nearer, it is critical for some interventions to help curb the involvement of the youth in violence.
Past incidents in the 2008 elections should serve as a signal of what may happen next year.
In this direction, it is worth mentioning that the Ghana chapter of the West African Network for Peace-building (WANEP) launched a project about two weeks ago expected to help redirect the youth to contribute positively to the success of the 2012 elections.
The Youth in Election (YiEl) project, which was launched in Tamale, would help in socialising youth of the various political parties to appreciate the use of peaceful means, such as dialogue, to resolve their differences.
In the estimation of WANEP, the lack of dialogue among young people of various political parties is a major contributor to violence among these groups.
Thus, under the YiEl project, Inter-Party Youth Dialogue Committees are to be formed to ensure that the youth discuss alternate ways of resolving issues of contention, while relegating the use of violence.
Fortunately, Tamale and Bawku are among the eight towns that have been selected to pilot the project over a six month period. The rest are Kumasi, Takoradi, Yendi, Ho, Sunyani and Gushiegu.
As you may be aware, these are potential hotspots for political violence and thus, the need for their inclusion.
The YiEl project, which is on the theme “Harnessing the power of the youth for peace in 2012,” is being supported by the German International Development Co-operation (GIZ), Christian Aid, Canadian High Commission and IBIS.
Apart from undertaking joint activities, the Inter-party dialogue committees would be expected to discuss emerging issues that pose a danger to the conduct of the elections and make attempts to bring all sides on board for a harmonious resolution.
“By working together, these committees will increase communication amongst the youth of the various parties and dispel rumours that pose a threat to peaceful co-existence,” the National Co-ordinator of WANEP, Ghana, Mr Justin Bayor stated at the launch of the project at the Modern City Hotel.
He noted that the introduction of the project followed research findings that indicated that election violence was mostly perpetrated by the youth.
“The research was conducted by WANEP-Ghana on behalf of the United Nations (UN) in four conflict hotspots in the country and the findings proved that violence was mostly expressed by the youth,” he mentioned.
Indeed, the youth form the majority of the population and when they are able to resist being manipulated by politicians, the country’s fledgling democracy would be enhanced.
What remains critical for the success of this project is for the grassroots to be captured, because many of the violent acts are perpetrated by the teeming unemployed, idle and vulnerable youth, who do not feel that they have something to lose when there is instability.
It is also crucial that the political parties throw their weight behind this project else, little results would be achieved.
More importantly, inhabitants of Tamale and all the selected areas must support this project, because when there is violence, business is disrupted and development is stalled.
Investors would also shy away from putting their investments in areas where violence is rife.
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