The Head Pastor of the Holy Ghost Temple, Assemblies of God Church, Bolgatanga, Reverend Dominic Ziba, has cautioned Ghana’s youth against allowing themselves to be used to cause mayhem in the country as the conduct of the December 7, Presidential and Parliamentary elections approaches.
Rev. Ziba’s caution comes in the wake of a violent clash between supporters of the governing New Patriotic Party(NPP) and the National Democratic Congress(NDC) in the Odododiodio Constituency in the Greater Accra Region. The clash led to many young men being hospitalized after they sustained varying degrees of injury. Guns, stones and sticks were used in the violent clash.
The recent developments bring to the fore, the role of the youth in ensuring a violent free elections.
Speaking to journalists in Bolgatanga, Rev. Ziba, admonished Ghanaian youth to be cautious and have regard for the culture of the land, the Bible and refrain from all forms of violent acts before, during and after the December polls.
“I want to let them know that they are the future leaders of this country and if there is anyone who has to be very cautious, it should be the youth. [This is] because they have a long way to go. We are expecting that tomorrow they will be the responsible leaders to become the DCEs, the presidents, engineers and whatnot.
So I will encourage them as a Pastor to be decorous, to be circumspect, to regard our culture and for that matter the Bible’s admonition that we should respect and be humble in our ways so that tomorrow will be all right with us. So to the youth, I encourage them to be very gentle and not be used by anybody for violence. They should refrain from it,” he admonished.
The electioneering process has been characterized by pockets of violence with young people being at the center of these violent exchanges.
