TAMALE RESIDENTS IN SEARCH OF LASTING PEACE (PAGE 29)

FOR the past one week the Tamale metropolis has been inundated with activities aimed at promoting peace in the sprawling city.
Religious leaders, political parties, chiefs, civil society groups and residents have joined in a number of peace campaigns which were held in the metropolis aimed at making the area a safe haven for development.
Activities such as forums, street carnivals to promote peace, radio discussions and the circulation of peace messages were among the campaigns held by peace-loving residents and organisations.
The Northern Regional House of Chiefs, the Northern Ecumenical Forum (NEF), comprising religious leaders, political parties, the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and the Foundation for Security Development in Africa (FOSDA), a non-governmental organisation, were among the bodies which initiated peace campaigns in the metropolis.
While the Northern Regional House of Chiefs held a forum for political parties, chiefs and civil society groups to deliberate on peace issues, the NEF also held a meeting with religious leaders to come up with what it described as a “Road Map to Peace” initiative to ensure violence-free elections in the metropolis.
FOSDA, for its part, organised a well-attended peace march dubbed, “Ballots, not bullets”.
Indeed, recent developments in the metropolis, particularly the political violence between supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which resulted in acts of arson, had been a major source of worry to public-spirited individuals and organisations.
The President of the NEF, the Most Reverend Gregory Kpiebaya, entreated religious leaders to use the pulpit to condemn the stockpiling of weapons and the use of illegal firearms to foment trouble in the metropolis.
The Vice-President of the NEF, Rev Kwasi Addae-Naami, also urged Christians and Muslims to come up with peace messages to condemn violence in the area.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, also urged residents to “use modern tools of engagement like dialogue to iron out their differences”.
Undoubtedly, these peace initiatives have, over the years, been held but it seems a lot more needs to be done to avert the occasional disturbances in the metropolis.
One pertinent question worthy of consideration, therefore, is whether there is the need for all stakeholders to find out the remote and immediate causes of these intermittent disturbances in the metropolis.
There is more to those disturbances than meets the eye. There must be a problem somewhere, for which stakeholders, including the government, must find solutions before things get out of hand.