Post-Election Violence and Ethnic Divisions in Ghana - Should We Be Worried?

The following discourse was presented by my good friend, Martin Akandawen during an inter-university debate. He presents very cogent arguments on why all the tension and hullabaloo before, during, and after Ghana's 2016 elections should not be seen or feared as a sign of deep ethnic divisions in the country. Enjoy. 

Mr. Martin Akandawen in traditional regalia

Mr. Chairman, Panel of Judges, Distinguished Guests, Time Keeper, Fellow Debaters, Ladies And Gentlemen, I rise to speak on the motion: “Pre-election, election, and post-election happenings show deep ethnic divisions in Ghana." Ghana is hailed highly among her peers for the many successful peaceful elections we have conducted so far. We have engraved our name in stone as a beacon of democracy that is worth emulating. This feat was chalked on the back of more than two decades of pre-election, election, and post-election happenings in this country and not on a single event or by sudden flight. Where therefore is this evil called “deep ethnic division” in a process that saw many patting us on the back?

Mr. Chairman, what may be misleading my opponents to entertain these thoughts of ethnic divisions in Ghana from our electoral process? Are they dismissing the good international reportage on our elections? If they do not know, let me point out to them that this very election was rated very highly by both domestic and international observers and the media. Could so many people, organisations and institutions of diverse origins and orientation have been fooled? Or were they blind to something that only my opponents could see? Not likely! Can good and bad then dwell together? No! The gargantuan repulsive force between these two (good and bad) betrays any cognitive exercise of unity between them. The good reportage on our elections therefore points to nothing but the fact that the monster called “deep ethnic divisions” could not have been a part of our electoral process.

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Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I humbly dismiss the motion that the pre-election, election, and post-election happenings show deep ethnic divisions in Ghana. My opponents may have been confused by the hot exchanges between political opponents before and during the election. But what were they expecting? A mild and reverent tone as in a disagreement between monks or nuns? Not even activists of the so called established democracies engage in such puppy-play kind of political exchanges. A cursory observation of the happenings and utterances of politicians in the United States of America during their presidential elections in November 2016 should inform anyone that ours was a tip of the iceberg. I am by no means justifying any ills in our electoral process, but directing our attention to the commonality of hot exchanges across all geopolitical spaces.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies And Gentlemen, the seemingly hostile political exchanges were inevitable. They were the necessary evils whose sound bites and innuendoes were not only a comic relief for the stressful political season, but a vital test of our democratic foundations. As Martin Luther King subtly puts it, “The true test of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but in moments of challenge and controversy.” So the test of our democracy is in the times of hot exchanges between political party activists before, during and after our elections and not during the long fallow period of little political activity in-between elections. Let me hasten to add, my learned Panel of Judges, that our own renowned son, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has clearly warned warmongers such as my opponents here that those “ugly noises” are necessary in shaping our democratic credentials. They are not the sounds of war drums as they perceive, they are the political discourse necessary to keep us all on our toes in the exercise of our democratic rights.

Again I ask Ladies and Gentlemen, what could be misinforming my opponents? Is it the propagandists, aided by the pro-party media, whose long fallow period in-between elections gave them free energy to spontaneously seize the opportunity to rise from near oblivion due to inactivity? Mr. Chairman, the propagandists’ and the pro-party media’s ethnic division spin in the electoral process is a well-worn electoral tactic that obviously does not constitute “deep ethnic divisions in Ghana.” It was simply a spin and nothing more. My opponents are making a mountain out of a molehill. We must not seek to gag free expression, a constitutional right on the altar of perceived “deep ethnic divisions.” We must not also feed into propagandists and pro-media stories of “deep ethnic divisions” to the detriment of the obvious opportunity that our electoral process presents us to engage in a healthy rivalry and competition to generate the best ideas and conceptual framework for the development of our nation. No, we must not!

Read: Village Boy Impressions - 6th March

Let us not also forget that Ghanaians have come a long way with democracy and as such we all know that though we may be children of different mothers (ethnic groups), we are ultimately children of one father (Ghana). As our wise elders say, the teeth and the tongue both reside in the same mouth and yet do quarrel. But the quarrel of the teeth and the tongue though painful does not result in separation of dwellings for them; they both constitute the mouth. Therefore, like the teeth and the tongue, we may thread on each other’s toes but that does not mean there are deep divisions among us. ‘Deep ethnic divisions’ should be made of sterner stuff than our democratic process and we all know from stories elsewhere in Africa and the world over that ‘ethnic divisions’ look less fair and smell more fouler than our electioneering process.

Mr. Chairman, my opponents may also be of the mistaken believe that the different electoral results from strongholds of certain political parties are indicative of this perceived deep ethnic divisions. If so, I sympathize with them. But I will like to let them know that strongholds exist for every political party everywhere and hence Ghana’s case is no exception. Any deductions of deep ethnic divisions on this premise is therefore, jaundiced and unscientific. Let me again state emphatically that there were and are no ethnic political parties in the elections, and our constitution actually frowns on such entities to say the least. A concern of ethnic division could not therefore arise. Worth noting however is the heterogeneous ethnic representation in our political parties and leadership. This alone should be enough to disabuse any preconceived mind of any ethnic divisions in our electoral activities. 

Distinguished Guests, for the so called ethnic divisions that my opponents may suggests, I would like to ask; for how long have they existed? Our electoral process has returned different outcomes over the years in many different political constituencies and administrative regions. If there were indeed any ethnic divisions, this would not have been possible. In the light of this, my opponents' suggestion of deep ethnic division is a paradox that can only be a figment of their own imagination. Let us celebrate the diverse ethnic representations in the various aspects of life; including our political life, our embrace of political opponents and views, and our receptiveness to the adage that we agree to disagree among many other good traits of our political life. It is high time we did away with the horrible perceptions we have of ourselves and feed on the ideals of our founding fathers and the good reputation and reportage that all our neighbours far and near have of us. 

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Mr. Chairman, Panel of Judges, Distinguished Guests, Time Keeper, Ladies and Gentlemen; with these incontrovertible arguments advanced, I call on you all to side with me to unequivocally denounce the motion that "Pre-election, election, and post-election happenings show deep ethnic divisions in Ghana". Thank you!

On the night of the debate

The debater, Martin Akandawen, is an Mphil Pharmacology student at the School of Pharmacy, University of Ghana.