Opinions of Wednesday, 15 October 2008

Columnist: Adumua, Sam

Lands For Votes: Osu Warns Government

I am writing this article as a pure Ga who hale from Osu Kinkawe and not as a member of any political party. I have been following the news on government trying to release lands to the people (i.e. the so called chiefs and their cronies) of Osu and have the following to say.

I would like to know who constitute the so called Osu traditional council. And who is Mr. Adjetey? I think both the traditional council and Mr Adjetey are a disgrace to our people. Why should Mr. Adjetey even think of linking land issues with electoral matters, God help us? If Mr Adjetey is intellectually sound enough to be PRO for the so called Osu traditional council, I think he should have known better. Who did he think he was representing in the first place?

In fact who is Adjetey trying to deceive? That Osu warns government? What/which section of Osu is warning the government? This is complete nonsense Mr Adjetey. We the people of Osu would like to dissociate ourselves from this cheap politically motivated nonsense. We are a very descent people and we know how best to tackle matters like this rather than trying to score cheap political point for the so called traditional council.

Mr Adjetey and the so called traditional council should stop pretending as if they are fighting for us the Osu people. We are not fools. They must know that the age of illiteracy is long gone and the people are now more educated than they think we were some years back. Where were Mr Adjetey and his council when Tei Okunor was selling Osu lands in Papao and its environs to individuals and members of certain political parties? Where were they when Tei Okunor was buying freezers for certain members of the stool who sold their birth rite and allowed Tei Okunor to sell our lands? Mr Adjetey and his people should tell us what they need the so called land for? If not to sell it to multiple people and use the money to enrich themselves. Those land that the stood and allowed Tei Okunor to sell, have they accounted for any of them yet? Are they trying to tell us that what Tei Okunor did was lawful? If not what have they done about it? We the people of Osu need answers to such pertinent questions before we even think about these lands that the government is talking about.

Unlike the other chiefs in other parts of the country, some of the Ga chiefs have never and will never help the Ga people in anyway. All that they are interested in is to sell our lands without being accountable to the people. They have sold all our lands but we the people have never benefited in anyway. I will like all the youth of osu to demand accountability from the so called elders. They have failed the Osu land and posterity will judge them accordingly.

What we want to know from Mr Adjetey and his colleagues is to tell we the people of Osu what those lands will be use for? We also want to know from them their source of income, who audits the so called traditional council accounts. How much money the Osu state have in their coffers, what developmental project are they intending to carry out in the Osu community etc.

They must know that chieftaincy is not just about sprinkling of kpokpoi every homowo. It is about looking after the people in the community, being accountable to them and spear heading community base developmental projects.

I would like to end by calling on all the youth of Osu to match up to the so called traditional council and demand from them what their plans are for the Osu community. We the youth of Osu have left the so called old men to take us for granted for a longtime. This is the time for us to show them that power belongs to we the people of Osu and no one should make a statement/declaration in the name of Osu without consulting us the youth. A time is coming and just as some politicians have been imprison for causing financial lost to the state, so shall we the youth of Osu will send all of you to the court for not being accountable to us. Mr Adjetey and his cronies should know that the searchlight is now on them and we the youth will use every means to find out about what will happen to the so called land that government will be releasing to them. We want to know from them about what use they have for these lands apart from selling them and enriching themselves with the money. The actions of some of our chiefs have put the Ga state at the bottom of the chieftaincy ladder and it is hard time they change their ways and be loyal to the people. It is now time for them to find ways and means of raising funds to help the Ga state and stop selling our lands to survive. The land is our heritage and we the youth of Osu will protect it from the vultures whose aim is just to sell our lands to multiple people.

Author

ADUMUA SAM MIDLANDS UK