There is a duel between two Krobo youth groups in the Eastern Region over comments made by Abuakwa South Member of Parliament (MP), Samuel Atta Akyea, to the effect that the proposed university for the region should have been situated within Akyem rather than Somanya.

A group calling itself the Concerned Youth of Krobo Land has condemned a statement issued earlier by another Krobo youth group known as Organised Youth of Krobo calling on Mr Atta Akyea to render an unqualified apology for his comment.

However, Concerned Youth of Krobo Land, in a counter statement said the views of the Organised Youth of Krobo do not represent the views of the people of Krobo.

It will be recalled that Mr Atta Akyea, in an interview with Class News, defended concerns by Okyehene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin that Akyems had been sidelined by the Mahama administration and argued that the decision to site the university at Somanya – where Krobos are prominent – rather than Akyem, underscored Okyehene’s concerns.

In response, the Organised Youth of Krobo described the MP’s utterances as “divisive” with the “potential of plunging the region and by extension our dear nation into tribal conflict”.

However, the Concerned Youth of Krobo Land has accused the Organised Youth of Krobo of playing politics with Mr Atta Akyea’s comments.

“We don’t need anyone or group of persons to divide us by interpreting what somebody said for us to understand, as our brothers sought to do to please their paymasters. After carefully reading through and analysing the statement made by the Hon. Member of parliament, Lawyer Atta Akyea, and listening to him further on our local radio station Rite FM, we found the statement of the said group to be misleading, propagandist and fuelled with the intention to score cheap political points,” the group said.

The Concerned Youth of Krobo Land, defending the Abuakwa South legislator, said Mr Atta Akyea only sought to lobby developmental projects for his constituency, which is expected of any responsible Member of Parliament.

According to the group, the MP never made any statement concerning Krobos. The group has, therefore, called on the Organised Youth of Krobo, to rather render an unqualified apology to Mr Atta Akyea, Ghanaians, Krobos, and the region as whole because “their statement was rather divisive and has the potential of fomenting tribal conflict”.

Read the full statement below:

CONCERNED YOUTH OF KROBO LAND

We the CONCERNED YOUTH OF KROBO LAND, condemn in no uncertain terms a statement released in the name of some invisible handful of youth calling themselves 'Organized Youth of Krobo' against Hon. Atta Akyea, the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South. We call on the people of Krobo to disregard such tribalistic and inflammatory statement and note that it does not represent the views of the “PEOPLE OF KROBO LAND ".

We KROBOS are very wise, peace-loving people and will not allow ourselves to be incited against any other tribe in the region and the country as a whole for the political interest of few self-centred individuals. We are one country, one region, one people with a common destiny. We don’t need anyone or group of persons to divide us by interpreting what somebody said for us to understand as our brothers sought to do to please their paymasters. After carefully reading through and analysing the statement made by the Hon. Member of Parliament Atta Akyea and listening to him further on our local radio station Rite FM, we found the statement of the said group to be misleading, propagandist, and fuelled with the intention to score cheap political points.

To set the record straight we smell mischief and calculated wickedness on the part of the so-called youth group to incite one tribe and paramountcy against another, which is unacceptable and must be condemned. There is nowhere that the Honourable Member for Abuakwa South made any tribal or divisive statement, let alone act in such manner to plunge the nation or the region into chaos as our brothers want us to believe in their release.

The honourable member never made any statement concerning Krobos. What he sought to do as an MP was to lobby developmental projects for his constituency which is expected of any responsible member of parliament. If this is what the so-called 'Organized Youth of Krobo' interpreted as tribal or whipping sentiments of one group against the other then we are advising them to inform our Members of Parliament in the Krobo area to do same.

The members of the so-called 'Organized Youth of Krobo' should bow their heads in shame and ask for forgiveness. We call on them to render an unqualified apology to Hon. Atta Akyea, Ghanaians, the people of Krobo and the region as whole because their statement was rather divisive and has the potential of fomenting tribal conflict.

We want to inform all Ghanaians that we Krobos are peaceful people living in our communities without any problem and wouldn’t like any uncivilised group of people to bring chaos to us. If our brothers understand the politics of development which we believe they do and how it is done to have your part of the national cake then as we have stated earlier they should be advising our Krobo MPs to also do well and work hard to bring us more development than what we are seeing now.

We are very much aware that there is no conflict between our chiefs and that of any other tribe within the Eastern region with respect to the siting of the university in Somanya. What we are looking for is action and not the empty promises of their paymasters. We Krobos will continue to live in peace with everybody and shame the few who want to sow the seed of conflict for their personal gains.

Long live Krobo Land, Long live Eastern Region, Long live Ghana.

(Convener)
Philip Kweku Mamphey

(Secretary)
Tettey Emmanuel

(Operations)
Michael Mensah