The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has expressed grave concern about the ongoing impasse in parliament, describing it as “a looming danger” which must be resolved to forestall future mishaps.
“The consequences of it can be incalculable. The refusal of men and women to let go of past grievances. Across the African continent, political divisions have deepened conflicts and undermined the scope for cooperation.
Conflicts now endanger the ECOWAS sub-region and now, in our country, our pride and joy as a fountain of democracy is imperiled by developments that can only stick in our throats,” he bemoaned.
The Asantehene, who was speaking at the final session of the 58th congregation of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, said the continuing antipathy towards the institutions of state that should guarantee our peace and stability and the challenge to rule of law should not continue to go on.
He indicated that political leaders were in danger of ignoring the lessons of history and the penalties with miscalculations in our political environment.
“No system of governance can be sustained without the process by which differences are reconciled and litigations brought to an end.
It is not just a necessary requirement of our constitutional democracy, it is one of the strengths of African traditional governance,” the Asante King submitted.
He said, “When we send men and women to Parliament, we expect them to engage in rigorous debates but we also expect them to be able to reconcile conflicting opinions.”
This is the worst possible time to put the nation through this trauma, he lamented.
Otumfuo pointed out that Ghana’s democracy had not developed the precedence and therefore could not sustain a prolonged political crisis.
He pointed out that Ghana’s economy was not in the best shape after the COVID-19 crisis, adding that “whoever wins this election is going to have a battle on his hands to rejuvenate the economy.”
The world, he noted, was in turmoil and that even the most powerful nations had been consumed by the western priorities with little spare for others.
“We must as Ghanaians be clear in our minds that we cannot afford the luxury of any prolonged fruitless litigations in the years.
The time of history is against that, every individual engaged in the current electoral process must be aware and every voter in Ghana must know that whoever wins must hit the ground running or risk the danger of a revolution of shattered dreams.
Political protagonists should know that no party can administer the affairs of the nation without the cooperation of the other party”, he advised.
The Asantehene indicated that, the successful administration of a country under a political party required a large dose of bi-partisan cooperation.
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