Politics of Friday, 1 March 2024

Source: Isaac Nongya, Contributor

Politics must not divide us, we are one family - Savannah NPP Chair to NPP, NDC

Some supporters at the funeral of the late Queen mother of Busunu Some supporters at the funeral of the late Queen mother of Busunu

Savannah Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, NPP, Sulemana Iddrisu, has appealed to residents of the region not to turn the infant region into a breeding ground for violence and tension, all in the name of attending funerals.

Mr. Sulemana added that before politics there were Kagbenye (descendants of Ndewura Jakpa), hence partisan politics should not separate the beautiful bond between them but rather enhance development.

It will be recalled that on Sunday, February 25, 2024, there were scuffles between supporters of the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress at the final funeral rites of the late Queen mother of Busunu, Busunuwuriche Azara Seidu, at Businu, a suburb of West Gonja in the Savannah Region.

Some high-profile politicians from the political divide, like former President John Dramani Mahama, the Chief of Staff of the Republic of Ghana, Akosua Frema-Opare, the Member of Parliament of Damongo, Abu Jinapor, and the Savannah Regional Minister, Saeed Muhazu Jebril including some former Government's appointees of both regimes among others were all in attendance midst of tension between the two parties' youth.

In recounting a similar incident between supporters of NPP and NDC during the seventh-day funeral rites of the late Yagbonwura Tuntumba Sulemana Bore Essa II at Damongo where he (Sulemana Iddrisu) single-handedly intervened and restored peace, he bemoaned such reoccurrences and appealed for calm and unity among both parties' supporters.

"What do we gain as NPP and NDC supporters? Or is politics superior to Kagbenye; if not, let's revisit the unity and peace of our forefathers. It's shameful and very embarrassing for us to allow others to come in and cause the problems and disappear and our name is smeared with all the negative tags."

Professor Kalamonia maintained, "we have seen how politics has divided and destroyed families in some other regions and we shouldn't allow that to happen to us here because we are Kagbenye."

He adds that, as a chairman, he believes in fairness and wouldn't allow any bloodshed of a brother or sister in the name of politics.

He commended the Savannah Regional Chairman of NDC, Seidu Imoro for distancing himself from the incident because he is a true son of the kingdom who also believes in fairness.

He also appealed to the leadership of both sides to put measures in place to curtail any future occurrences in the region.