YOUTH ADVISED AGAINST PARTISAN POLITICS (PAGE 34, AUG 09, 2011)

THE youth in Tamale have been urged not to take the statements and promises of politicians hook, line and sinker.
According to the Executive Director of Youth Icons Ghana, Nana Yaw Osei-Darkwa, the youth form a major power bloc and therefore must assert themselves and ensure that their needs were met.
Interacting with some youth in Tamale, Mr Osei-Darkwa challenged them not to let partisan politics mislead them into simply being followers of politicians who do not serve the general good of the society and the youth in particular.
“You may have sympathies for party ‘A’ or ‘B’, but remember that if you allow these parties to destroy our nation, you would suffer it,” he stated.
He said instead of allowing politicians to decide the future of the youth, the youth must rather get involved and lead in shaping their future.
“It is our future, not theirs. Today is for them and tomorrow for us. So if we do not build it the way we like it, they would destroy it for us,” he stressed.
Mr Osei-Darkwa noted that the 2012 elections presents an opportunity to the youth to speak with one voice and demand answers from politicians who would be seeking their mandate to rule this country.
He said instead of simply cheering to the pledges of politicians, it is high time the youth demanded that politicians outline how they intend to fulfil those promises.
He said it was wrong for the electorate to wait until political parties assume the reins of government before demanding to know how they intend to fulfil their promises.
“You should not accept blank cheques. In 2012, the ‘how’ is going to be paramount and you must push politicians to tell you these ‘how(s)’, else you reject them,” he added.
Mr Osei-Darkwa is the recipient of the Bruce W. Tancrell Peace Award 2011, which was instituted to honour individuals and institutions that have made outstanding contributions to instilling a culture of peace and non-violence.
He was presented with this award in June this year at University of Rhode Island, the United States of America (USA).
Mr Osei-Darkwa’s organisation – Youth Icons Ghana – championed a non-violent campaign in the country in the run up to the 2008 elections through the “One Ghana Peace” project.