Political Colouring And The Conflict In The Northern Region.

April 27, 2010 edition of the daily graphic captured issues on conflicts going on in the Northern Region. It is not a surprise to open the dailies and see conflict related issues from the Northern Region. Therefore, one would ask why then am I complaining?

The issues bordered on the political strings that are tied to the conflict in the Northern Region. The issue is painted in different political colours. None of the colours complemented each other. This reminds me of my advertising notes on colour and design where I learnt about primary, secondary and tertiary colours. That is by the way. None of the arguments raised by the two “painters” would help deal with the issue at hand. These political colours that are attached to the conflict began long ago. The Ghanaian politician has not realized that the political colouring is not helping matters. It is not about blaming one divide for not doing what the other divide thought should have been done. Rather a decision to bring on board all and sundry from the North Region would help solve the problem. The contrasting issue is while others are pleading with the politicians to stay away from the conflict, the politicians are running closer to the issue and adding more petrol to the already blazing fire.

A Dagbon youth leader Mr Ibrahim Tanko, appealed to politicians to stay away from the conflict. I know this would not be heeded because the politician thinks he knows best.

For lovers of movies; have you ever watched this movie? It is titled “Sometimes In April”. The genocide in Rwanda was acted in this movie and it showed how tribal war turned into national war. The first time I watched this movie I was close to tears. Hatred for each other on tribal basis which was taken for granted resulted in the killing of a president and other top officials who do not belong to the dominant tribe.

We live in Ghana and say that Ghana has gotten to that level where there would be no war. Our heads are swollen like the village boy who happens to be the first to attend university.

Nigeria has been there, Cote d’ Ivoire is there and thinking of when to come back, Liberia and Sierra Leone were there and are back.

I was naming next door neighbours who had been in the land where there was bloodshed. Their conflicts did not begin from the stadia- God forbid! Ah my favourite game. It can never bring about war. It began from tribal misunderstanding and turned into national conflicts. We were in this country when Cote d’ Ivoire divided into two like a new form of the Berlin Conference of 1884 which partitioned Africa.There is a Prime Minister in the North and President in the South.

I must confess I was not born when Biafra was on the lips of the whole of Africa and the world. But come to think of it I am now a young man who loves history so much so I have read about Biafra and watched movies of the Biafran conflict too. It also did not begin from what we usually called ‘mu nkye ndi’ which literally means ‘share and eat’. This term came as a result of monies we pay together when we had a football match.

Back to Biafra, it happened when a section of Nigerians massacred another section of Nigerians. It resulted in a three year civil war. Do we want these to happen here?

Natives of the three Northern Regions where are they? I do not feel comfortable when people say things that sound degrading about the Northern Region. Right from morning shows to the drinking beer, to the mosque and the church. Some Ghanaians say things like ‘we are tired of them’, ‘they can continue to kill themselves’, ‘they are wasting our money’ and ‘Ghana should even be divided so that they would not be part of us’. It is sad that even people who do not deserve to insult Northerners are doing so with all the freedom. It is said ‘if you make a mouse of yourself the cat will feast on you’ No one has the right to look down on other men. We are all born equal whether on hospital beds or behind the bath house on plantain leaves. Did we all not come to this world with bloody umbilical cords? I know that the three Northern Regions has influential men and women who can stand up tall and work hard to bring this problem of conflict in the Northern Region to an end.

‘No one points his left finger to his home’ is a wise saying which should guide influential natives of the three Northern Regions to stand up tall and bring peace to their native land.

The politicians should come together in finding a lasting solution to the conflict rather than finding fault with each other. The political colouring of the Dagbon and Bawku conflicts will not brighten the future of the Northern Region.

Natives of Dagbon and Bawku rise up and take a clue from the late reggae artiste, Joseph Hill. Joseph Hill says ‘TRIBAL WAR CAN’T SOLVE THE PROBLEM’

Kwame Selorm Blege"