Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the 2012 Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, has stated that Ghana is more divided today than it was at the time President Mills took the Oath of Office, saying this could be have been avoided and can still be avoided “with a leader who is sincere and genuine”.

He made this known at a press conference held at the Freedom Hotel, Ho, where he responded to President Mills’ State of the Nation address delivered on Thursday 17th February 2011, a day Nana Addo described as “a sad day in our nation’s history”.

Nana Addo reminded President Mills that until January 7, 2013, he remained the President of 24 million people of rich, diverse backgrounds and pan-tribal unity and asked that all Ghanaians to be treated equally by the state, adding that the NPP has never said any one group of Ghanaians was superior to another.

Recounting his first public address on May 26, 2009, where he spoke extensively about the need for national unity, Nana Addo stated at the time, “Our nation appears to be under unnecessary divisive strain. The ethnic passions that were deliberately heightened during our elections, coupled with the closeness of the results and the serious challenges facing our nation, demand that we make extra efforts to promote the unity of our nation.”

“Unfortunately, since coming to power, the NDC has chosen to emphasize what divides us rather than what unites us. There have been references to certain ethnic groups as if they were second-class citizens. For instance, Ashantis have been deliberately and falsely accused of having many children in order to swell their electoral numbers”.

“There should be no place for tribalism in Ghana’s Republic, and we should all work towards that end. I urge President Mills to focus on things that unite us and can move our nation forward, together, to build on our growing democracy, to expand the rule of law, to confront the challenges of the global crisis and to make this, indeed, a better country for all Ghanaians.”

Nana Addo also recalled the first four months under President Mills which, instead of uniting and fostering peace among Ghanaians, were spent intimidating innocent citizens and political opponents. He cited examples such as the arson attacks in some suburbs of Tamale where all the 27 properties that were torched belonged to NPP members.

In the most outrageous case, Madame Sadia Seidu, a Nursing Officer and wife of Mr. Bawa Baako Alhassan, (the former Tamale NADMO Coordinator) suffered multiple cutlass wounds at the hands of a mob, who burnt and razed down the family’s 18-room compound house.

“Thursday, February 17, 2011, the very day that the President read his State of the Nation address, marked the second anniversary of that grievous bodily harm on Madame Sadia Seidu and the arson attacks on the homes of more than 800 Ghanaians in Tamale. Two years down the line, no one (and I mean not a single soul) has been arrested and charged for the attempted murder of Madame Sadia Seidu, even though she identified those who led the attack on her life”, Nana Addo said.

Nana Addo said the response of a responsible government should be to address the scars and wounds of Ghanaians and not to warn them of a security red alert.

“I said in 2009 and I will repeat it here, ‘those affected by the violence are first and foremost, Ghanaians, whatever their political colours. The law enforcement agencies should investigate and bring to book the authors of these acts of violence’”, Nana added. -- NPP Communications Directorate NPP Headquarters, Asylum Down. Accra.

Dep. Director: Curtis Perry K. Okudzeto (024-9679008)