The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has urged the public to ignite and rekindle the spirit of nation-building and continually maintain national unity and cohesion.
This, it said was key in promoting peaceful co-existence to enhance the respect for rule of law, create equal opportunity for all and focus on core values and principles of the nation as captured in the preamble of the 1992 Constitution.
Mrs Ellen Osei, the Abura-Asebu- Kwamankese (AAK) District Director of the NCCE, reiterated the need for all to put Ghana first, plan and strategize on respective roles and responsibilities towards achieving national unity.
She made the call at a meeting with community members, schools, religious bodies, artisans, and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in the AAK District as part of the Commission’s annual Constitution Week celebration.
She indicated that the NCCE as part of its mandate to encourage constitutionalism, instituted the week as part of its flagship programs to create and sustain awareness on the principles and objectives of the 1992 Constitution.
The program initiated some 20 years ago was celebrated to also deepen and sustain Ghana’s democracy, earmarked under the theme “We are One, Ghana First.”
She noted that the theme emphasized on the identity of the citizenry with a common destiny and hence the national interest must supersede all other personal, political, ethnic and religious interests.
“As a nation, we have failed in adhering to some adopted values and principles of the Constitution because of issues of ethnocentrism, religious fanatism, chieftaincy disputes, secessionist agitation and a host others,” she added.
Mrs Osei further underscored the need to avoid greed, self-centeredness, quest for power, which threatens the foundation of the nation’s unity and tranquillity.