Backers of tribalism must be prosecuted without being gagged, political scientist urges

Samuel Adu-Gyamfi, a senior lecturer in the department of history and political science at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, has advocated that officials prosecute people who pass tribalism and comments which are detrimental to the development of Ghana.

However, the lecturer believes that such actions must be taken without infringing on rights to free speech.

Speaking in an interview on The Asaase Breakfast Show, Dr Adu-Gyamfi called for education on matters such as tribalism before, during and after the 2020 elections.

Tribal slur

Dr Adu-Gyamfi’s remarks follow widespread condemnation of the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Mahama, for ethnocentric comments he made last week.

Vice-President Mahamadu Bawumia, together with some groups, has asked the NDC flagbearer to retract and apologise for making the divisive comments.

However, the former president has denied the accusations of tribalism and, indeed, denied making any such statement, saying that he would be the last person to make tribalist remarks.

Role of civil society

Adu-Gyamfi believes civil society groups must be resourced adequately to embark on a sensitisation drive on the need to avoid tribalist insults, even beyond the election period.

“We cannot overlook the role of these institutions, because they come to the realm as independent arbiters and they do not support one side against the other,” he said. “As a result of the degree of credibility of such institutions, the political actors allow them to leverage and, from time to time, we have had religious leaders come in strongly to support.”

Adu-Gyamfi emphasised that political parties should recognise themselves as public entities and not one-man parties in order to influence the way society operates.

“Political parties form governments and they have social contracts with the people from time to time, and even when they don’t, they should allow for a peaceful atmosphere,” he said.

Demand for condemnation

Speaking on the same programme, the security analyst Sanni Adib also called on civil society groups to step up their efforts to educate the public to desist from such practices.

“I understand how dirty politics gets, especially in the heat of the political season. We should try and avoid the ethnic bit of it. On the other hand, it works in their favour …

“The National Commission on Civic Education and the media have an important role to play in getting the information out there to make [the public] understand that any politician who will come and talk about ethnicity does not have a message to offer the electorate,’’ he said.

Fred Dzakpata

Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online.
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