Expose politicians who use machomen for violence-Ashigbey
THE Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Ken Ashigbey, has urged members of the Machomen for Good and Justice, an association for body builders, to expose politicians who approach them to intimidate electorates before, during and after Friday’s elections.
“Expose the charlatans who want to push the country to the brink of chaos, he said at a programme organised by the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) for the group to share their experiences in past elections and ways to protect the country’s peace.
The Graphic MD commended the group for their stance against intimidation during elections saying “what you have started is a good venture and the beginning of an advocacy and good commitment into the future.”
He said the company would continue to make its platform available to project the work of the association.
He, however, urged the security agencies to find innovative ways of working hand-in-hand with the muscle men to promote peace and security in the country before, during and after Friday’s polls.
The leadership of the group, with a membership of 6,000 from some parts of the country who were at the event, condemned the use of machomen in the past to intimidate electorates.
A member of the group, Nana Osei, noted that it saddened his heart when the macho community was criticised for stealing ballot boxes when their colleagues in other jurisdictions were winning Olympic medals.
Mr Gilbert Ntiamoah, aka Polos, President of the association, confessed that since 1992, some of them had been used by politicians to intimidate their opponents.
He, however, fell short of mentioning names.
He urged his colleagues across the country not to allow themselves to be used by politicians for selfish reasons.
Nii Laryea Amartei, who is popularly known within the macho community as ‘Warrior’ said his family was vulnerable to violence because “I am the only person with a passport. If something bad happens, where will my wife and children go?,” he asked.
The representatives of political parties and the only independent presidential hopeful, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah, resolved not to use macho men before, during and after the 2012 elections.
While Mr Yeboah made a firm commitment to do his best to ensure a violent free poll, the National Organiser of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) and the Independent Peoples Party (IPP) urged Ghanaians to consolidate the nation’s peace by conducting themselves peacefully during and after the elections.
According to Mr Yeboah who claimed he was born in a Zongo community in the Ashanti Region, he could have also become an apparatus for intimidation and violence just like the machomen but was fortunate to have had a good education -
Mr Yeboah pledged to channel the energy of the machomen into protecting the country’s environment and help them to secure jobs with private security companies if the security services could not absorb them.
He noted that over the years, politicians had only used and dumped machomen after the elections.
Making reference to a recent clash between NPP and NDC supporters at Ash Town, a suburb of Kumasi, Mr Yeboah said if state institutions were effective, it should be easy to track down those who gave guns used in the incident by conducting forensic tests on bullets used in the incident to arrest the owner of the gun.
According to him, peace was a delicate concept that had to be handled delicately.
He said the irony of the incident was that while Otumfuor Osei Tutu took the bold initiative to bring together all the aspirants to sign the peace pact in Kumasi, the incident happened just three days later.
“It means, our destruction is closer than we are made to believe, hence the need to tread cautiously,” he added.
He commended the GCGL for the initiative which he said was a novelty that needed to be applauded.
Mr Seth Hammond, a representative of the PPP, stated that while everybody was preaching peace, it was important to look at events that had unfolded in Liberia, Cote d’voire and Rwanda.
“We have to ask ourselves if these countries would extend to us the kind of hospitality we extend to them should this country be plunged into chaos.”
“No matter our ethnic background, we are one and should not allow the elections to divide us,” he said.
While pledging that the PPP would not do anything untoward to mar the elections, he also urged members of the association to ensure that their colleagues were brought under one umbrella body.
The IPP National Organiser, Mr Jerry Owusu Appau, for his part, commended the company for the initiative and stated that the party had always been committed to a violent-free election and would not do anything to compromise the integrity of the polls.
“Expose the charlatans who want to push the country to the brink of chaos, he said at a programme organised by the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) for the group to share their experiences in past elections and ways to protect the country’s peace.
The Graphic MD commended the group for their stance against intimidation during elections saying “what you have started is a good venture and the beginning of an advocacy and good commitment into the future.”
He said the company would continue to make its platform available to project the work of the association.
He, however, urged the security agencies to find innovative ways of working hand-in-hand with the muscle men to promote peace and security in the country before, during and after Friday’s polls.
The leadership of the group, with a membership of 6,000 from some parts of the country who were at the event, condemned the use of machomen in the past to intimidate electorates.
A member of the group, Nana Osei, noted that it saddened his heart when the macho community was criticised for stealing ballot boxes when their colleagues in other jurisdictions were winning Olympic medals.
Mr Gilbert Ntiamoah, aka Polos, President of the association, confessed that since 1992, some of them had been used by politicians to intimidate their opponents.
He, however, fell short of mentioning names.
He urged his colleagues across the country not to allow themselves to be used by politicians for selfish reasons.
Nii Laryea Amartei, who is popularly known within the macho community as ‘Warrior’ said his family was vulnerable to violence because “I am the only person with a passport. If something bad happens, where will my wife and children go?,” he asked.
The representatives of political parties and the only independent presidential hopeful, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah, resolved not to use macho men before, during and after the 2012 elections.
While Mr Yeboah made a firm commitment to do his best to ensure a violent free poll, the National Organiser of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) and the Independent Peoples Party (IPP) urged Ghanaians to consolidate the nation’s peace by conducting themselves peacefully during and after the elections.
According to Mr Yeboah who claimed he was born in a Zongo community in the Ashanti Region, he could have also become an apparatus for intimidation and violence just like the machomen but was fortunate to have had a good education -
Mr Yeboah pledged to channel the energy of the machomen into protecting the country’s environment and help them to secure jobs with private security companies if the security services could not absorb them.
He noted that over the years, politicians had only used and dumped machomen after the elections.
Making reference to a recent clash between NPP and NDC supporters at Ash Town, a suburb of Kumasi, Mr Yeboah said if state institutions were effective, it should be easy to track down those who gave guns used in the incident by conducting forensic tests on bullets used in the incident to arrest the owner of the gun.
According to him, peace was a delicate concept that had to be handled delicately.
He said the irony of the incident was that while Otumfuor Osei Tutu took the bold initiative to bring together all the aspirants to sign the peace pact in Kumasi, the incident happened just three days later.
“It means, our destruction is closer than we are made to believe, hence the need to tread cautiously,” he added.
He commended the GCGL for the initiative which he said was a novelty that needed to be applauded.
Mr Seth Hammond, a representative of the PPP, stated that while everybody was preaching peace, it was important to look at events that had unfolded in Liberia, Cote d’voire and Rwanda.
“We have to ask ourselves if these countries would extend to us the kind of hospitality we extend to them should this country be plunged into chaos.”
“No matter our ethnic background, we are one and should not allow the elections to divide us,” he said.
While pledging that the PPP would not do anything untoward to mar the elections, he also urged members of the association to ensure that their colleagues were brought under one umbrella body.
The IPP National Organiser, Mr Jerry Owusu Appau, for his part, commended the company for the initiative and stated that the party had always been committed to a violent-free election and would not do anything to compromise the integrity of the polls.
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