News:
June 21, 2011
Northerners have been advised to resist cheap and selfish politicians who ride on their problems at the expense of development and peace in the area.
The youth have particularly been called upon to be wary of such persons who place them at the forefront of violence while they relax and enjoy life with their families.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, Kennedy Agyapong who gave the advice noted that young men and women who are not family members of such ill-conceived politicians are always influenced into perpetrating violence.
The outspoken legislator who was reacting to his contributions to growth of the region on Diamond Fm in Tamale re-echoed the need for the youth not to allow themselves be indoctrinated into violence.
He added that in the final analysis, the victims stand to gain nothing after being pushed into pursuing fruitless ventures like the burning down of houses and being caught on the wrong side of the law.
He accused politicians of failing Ghanaians indicating that a number of them had capitalized on the vulnerability of the country’s youth to their own advantage.
Mr. Agyapong whose contributions to Muslim communities had earned him the name Sheik Osman in Islamic circles said he was committed to devoting his entire life to fighting poverty and illiteracy. “Islam is not about violence but stands for truth and development,” he remarked.
It in the light of this he has donated GH¢10,000 to youth from both the Andani and Abudu ethnic groups who contacted him and expressed an interest in going into farming.
He added that his generosity to such groups were not borne out of any political interest but a part of his desire to see youth in the region develop well regardless of their political persuasion.
The Assin North MP criticized his colleague MPs from the north for failing to consolidate his efforts in demystifying the notion that the region was a haven for violence and under development calling for more concerted efforts. “They should give themselves a self critique on issues that are drawing back the fortunes of the north,” he said.
He promised the youth an additional GH¢100,000 and a new tractor if they put the little they had received to proper use hinting of plans to put up a rice mill in the region to help farmers.
According to him, he will monitor operations of the youth to ensure that they become useful to themselves and their dependants and serve as role models to others in propagating peace.
The northern region he emphasized was dear to his heart saying he had numerous projects in store for the area including catering for suspected witches and their dependants in the near future.
He said he still could not come to terms with how hundreds of poor women and their dependants could be torn away from their families and placed in witch camps assuring them of his support in due course.