Okudzeto calls for national unity

Mr. Sam Okudzeto, a legal practitioner has appealed to Ghanaians to come together as one family irrespective of any tribe to vote for a credible candidate who can champion the course of the country to greater heights.
According to him, intolerance and tribalism in the political history of Ghana which has been overblown by many and for selfish purposes has resulted in the country not advancing, a situation he said needed to be changed.
Mr. Sam Okudzeto was speaking as the guest speaker at the just ended 13th William Ofori-Atta Memorial lectures at the Osu Ebenezer Presbyterian Church hall in Accra.
Making reference to the Akan-Ewe tribes as the worse of the distortions, Okudzeto said the two never fought against each other as perceived by many in the country but are close allies as intermarriage and resettlement by the two is a clear testimony to that effect.
He therefore called on ethic groups in the country to eschew their differences and come together to push the nation’s agenda forward.
Mr. Okudzeto said political parties are necessary machinery for democratic governance which needed to be used wisely to propagate peaceful message but not to be used as a tool to cause mayhem in a society.
According to him, the ugly legacy of the early 50’s which resulted in violence where arson and anarchy reined for about three years in and around Kumasi should serve as a warning and be a duty and responsibility for all the political parties to prevent such act in the upcoming general elections in December.
“A person belonging to another party is not an enemy to be fought, maimed or killed. Ghana is for all and all are for Ghana”, he noted.
He averred that references by politicians to the violence in Kenya are misconceived since the country has witnessed such political violence before. He noted that Ghana has over the past years been a shinning star on the continent and will continue to stand as symbol of hope for democratic governance in Africa and the world.
Mr. Okudzeto who is a native of the Ewe land challenged Ghanaians to take lessons from the recent American elections where clear message devoid of negative propaganda was used by Senator Barack Obama to canvass votes for his presidential ambition.
“One of the lessons we should learn from the recent American elections is that negative propaganda does not aid in winning an election. If a young 47 years old and some say inexperience black man can overcome all the obstacles of racial prejudice and emerge victorious and become the president, it should make us in Africa sit up”, he observed.
He added “we should treat politics as a friendly game in which we pitch our talents and see who wins. Peace is not just a word. It is something we must live. It is a blessing that must be earned before it can be enjoyed”.
According to him, Ghanaians must work towards peace so as to appreciate differences in opinion, aptitude or temperament and learn to live with it.
He advocated the need to forgive one another for past events saying “forgiveness is a healing that every nation needs to move on” drawing lessons from situations where some African Americans have refused to forgive the whites for slave trade and continue to suffer because of it.
“For if one does not forgive, one does not understand, and if one does not understand, one is afraid, and if one is afraid, one hates, and if one hates, one cannot love. And no beginning on earth is possible without love, particularly in a world where men increasingly not only do not know how to love but cannot even recognize it when comes searching for them”, he noted. “The first step towards the love then must be forgiveness”, he added.
He stressed that the only path towards peace is forgiveness, a situation he said, if not adhered to, will lead chaos and retreat.