No Place for Ethnic Politics

Two years ago, I was in Jos Plateau, Nigeria, when hundreds of people were killed, and women and children were thrown into raging fires. I don’t think I have ever been as afraid as I was, hearing the endless war chants and the cries for help. Two days later, our host — an important man — showed up unscathed and simply said, “It was the indigenes and settlers again.” The indigenes blamed the settlers for their suffering — accusing them of taking over their nonexistent jobs — while the settlers felt deprived of their fair share of state resources. “Why don’t the settlers just move back to their country then?” I asked. He smiled sadly, “Oh, they’re Nigerians too — just from a different tribe and religion.” “In 21st-century Africa, why should people still be defined only by tribe or religion?” Ene, his daughter, chimed in. Ene’s words opened up a new conversation: whether it was time we all shrugged off our tribal and religious cloaks to build a better Africa. I remember whispering to myself, “Thank God in Ghana, the days when one was defined by tribe and religion are long gone.”

How naive I was.

We are not as free or as cosmopolitan as I thought. Over the past few days, events have made it painfully clear that my hope remains unfulfilled. In Accra, the Ga Mantse is demanding that the state show deference because we live on his people’s land. Meanwhile, in Northern Ghana, though no chief is making similar demands, petty ethnic squabbles continue to waste resources that could have been used to create jobs and develop the region. To make matters worse, politicians like Nii Lante Vanderpuye and Kennedy Agyapong made reckless comments, encouraging their tribesmen to attack those from others groups.

I refuse to wade into the ongoing debates about who should be charged with what. My lawyer friends(not to the hearing of the partisans who gathered at the CID and BNI)  insist there are better legal ways to sanction grown men who spew such nonsense. But that’s not the point of this piece. What terrifies me is the way some Ghanaians reacted to Mr. Agyapong’s arrest and the events that unfolded afterward.

But that’s not the focus of this piece. What truly terrifies me is the reaction of some Ghanaians to Mr. Agyapong’s arrest and the chaos that followed. First, his party tried  to justify a reckless statement. Then came the unsettling scenes: crowds of young and old gathering at the CID, BNI, and the courts, chanting for his release. Mr. Agyapong was simply with the police, not trapped in a lion’s den. Yet people rushed over, hurled stones, swore on the radio, and even called others to arms.

What’s more disturbing is that most of those who rallied to his defense hadn’t even heard the tape. Still, as an Asante, I find the New Patriotic Party (NPP) leadership’s response deeply troubling — particularly their failure to compel Mr. Agyapong to apologize for his comments. It’s one thing to stand behind your presidential candidate when he says “all-die-be-die,” urging supporters to fight to the death in an election. But defending outright dangerous rhetoric in a country where ethnic tensions simmer just beneath the surface is a huge and disappointing failure of leadership.

I hear the NPP’s presidential candidate is out of town. I hope he returns soon and chooses to lead by example: by publicly speaking out against Mr. Agyapong’s actions and condemning any politician who fans the flames of tribalism. We know where ethnocentric politics can lead; history shows us it often ends in bloodshed and genocide.

We must not go down that path. I hope both the President of Ghana (assuming he’s aware of these developments) and the NPP’s presidential candidate will address their supporters directly. They must make it clear: no upcoming election is worth the recklessness and ethnic baiting we’ve seen in recent weeks. They must demand their followers stand down — and let the police do their work without interference.

We are fortunate to have received these early warnings. There is still time to stop this nonsense before it spills into violence come December. No politician is worth that level of sacrifice. If they can’t rein in their supporters, aides, and MPs, then come election time, we should throw both parties to the curb

Ghanaians deserve better!