Opinions of Wednesday, 19 May 2021

Columnist: Kobla Kudoto

Ethnic profiling of Ewes is dangerous and must stop!!

File photo of the Volta Diaspora Caucus File photo of the Volta Diaspora Caucus

The Volta Diaspora Caucus is appalled by the stereotypical tendencies and ethnic profiling consistently targeted at indigenes of the Volta Region and Ewes in particular.

Such a conduct in itself is derogatory, backward and does not bode well for Ghana's unity and wellbeing and must be condemned by all well-meaning Ghanaians, admonishing the perpetrators to immediately eschew same.

The age-old trend which has political undertones and has especially heightened under the Akufo Addo government witnessed unprecedented deployment of a combined team of Military/Police/Immigration/political party thugs into the Volta Region during the 2020 voter registration exercise.

As clear as the reason for the deployment was to the people in the region, the Government's denial and subsequent but numerous contradictory explanations for the deployment and the brutalities suffered by some of the people gave Government away on the matter.

Suffice to say Voltarians living in other regions of Ghana also had extended to them their fair share of the horrible and stereotypical tendencies during the 2020 voter ID card registration exercise.

For instance, in Banda constituency in the Bono Region and Upper Denkyira West constituency in the Central Region, a lot of persons of Ewe descent were physically prevented from taking part in the registration exercise, telling them to go and register and vote in the Volta region.

Some of our people who insisted on registering there ended up being severely brutalized. The Assemblyman for Bongase Area in Banda is on record to have spoken to the press on how persons of Ewe descent living in the area were unfairly treated during the voter ID registration exercise including being tagged as Togolese.

It is also worth recalling, that months to the 2020 elections voter ID card registration exercise (between March 2020 - June 2020), there were devilishly plotted demolition exercise targeted at Ewe communities in some constituencies the Akufo Addo Government saw defeat staring at it and so had to cause a deliberate displacement of Ewes in those areas just so they can’t register there and be able to vote in the 2020 elections.

Some of these areas that suffer deliberate displacement in the name of demolition prior to the 2020 voter ID card registration exercise were Tema Ayigbe town (located between Tema East/Tema Central Constituencies), Dzowulu Ayigbe town (Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency) and Bongase, an Ewe settler community located in the Banda constituency in the Bono region.

We have also taken notice and not treating lightly the offensive and derogatory representation about Ewes in approved textbooks meant for Government of Ghana schools.

Perhaps the last straw to have broken the Camel's back, necessitating this press release is the physical abuse of Citi FM/Citi TV's reporter, Caleb Kudah, who per his own narration which we do not have any course to doubt, was going to suffer more physical abuse at the hands of operatives of National Security if he had revealed his Ewe ethnic background.

What crime did the Ewes or the people of the Volta region commit and against whom for which we are continually treated this way?

This country called Ghana belongs to all of us and among other things requires love and unity to build and should be our focus.

God bless our Homeland

Ghana and Make our Nation Great and Strong