OBED CAUTIONS AGAINST USE OF INFLAMMATORY LANGUAGE

Story: Tim Dzamboe, Likpe-Bala

The life patron of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), Dr Obed Yao Asamoah has urged the youth of leading political parties to be wary of the unguarded utterances of politicians which may tend to spark off violence during and after the 2008 general elections.
He said it was unfortunate for politicians to continue making derogatory remarks against each other of the political divide adding that it was an indication that violence could erupt from such inflammatory languages.
Dr Asamoah said this when he addressed a youth rally at Likpe Bala in the Hohoe-North constituency during which ward and regional executives of the party were introduced and to initiate a campaign for the 2008 elections.
According to him, “the New Patriotic Party(NPP) are saying that they have been in the political wilderness for 30 years so they must win the elections at all cost and rule for 30 years and the National Democratic Congress(NDC) are saying that it was time for the NPP government to park off and that they will not accept the results of the election in 2008 because it will be rigged”.
He questioned whether such utterances did not amount to looming violence which would set the clock of progress backwards.
Dr Asamoah said politicians had failed to marry politics with traditions, customs and values and charged the youth to join the DFP which is determined to marry religion with politics to move the nation forward.
He urged the youth to marry the religious values with the political dispensation prevailing in the country to prepare them adequately to take the mantle of leadership effectively.
He wondered why just because of politics some members of families insulted each other, do not talk to each other, injured each other and even killed each other and assured the youth of DFP’s primary objective of paradigm shift in politics in Ghana.
A large crowd thronged the town to give a rousing welcome to him and his entourage against speculations that he had been rejected by the people and during his address he was interrupted intermittently to applaud his message.
Dr Asamoah said bad politics had brought about bad policies of past and present governments and that there is the need to rally behind the DFP which comprised all shades of the political divide.
On the economy, he indicated that the government of the DFP would re-introduce subsidy to farmers to enable them to reduce poverty in the country since reduction of poverty could not be fought using Poverty Alleviation Funds, National Employment Programme and other interventions.
“ We cannot fight poverty without the re-introduction of subsidies to our farmers that is the reason why our produce are expensive than that of the imported ones and that cocoa succeeded due to the subsidy to farmers by the erstwhile Convention People’s Party(CPP) government.