Apart from hunger, one of the problems facing Ghana, and the North in particular, is the state of insecurity. For the past decades, the three Northern regions have experienced a number of skirmishes, some of which were bloody.
Though these skirmishes are being attributed to ethnicity, politics is gradually finding its way into the whole affair.
There was bloodshed in Bawku during the1996 elections, which nearly resulted in the death of the then Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, the late Hon. Hawa Yakubu.
Subsequent elections and political gatherings that have been held in these regions have resulted in one form of confusion or the other.
The latest is the shooting that took place at Tamale during the recent Northern regional conference of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which nearly caused the life of a police officer.
The three Northern regions still remain vulnerable, and it is in the light of this that The Chronicle finds the decision by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to hold its national congress at Tamale, to elect their national officers, as being dangerous.
Though the National Organiser of the party, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, told Peace FM on Monday night that the decision to send the congress to Tamale was to ensure regional balance, after holding similar congress in almost all the regional capitals, and also to thank the people in the North for the support they gave the party during the 2008 elections, The Chronicle still thinks it is a wrong a decision taken by the party.
If anything at all, we think Wa, the Upper West regional capital, should have been the best place to host the congress, since it is enjoying relative peace.
We wish to put it on record that we have nothing against our brothers and sisters living in Tamale, except that we are concerned about the current security situation in the city, and its surrounding villages.
The recent shooting incident during the NPP conference is all over the internet. This, among other skirmishes, is sending wrong signals to the outside world about the safety of people, especially investors and tourists, who would like to visit the country.
It is based on this that The Chronicle is deeply worried about the holding of the congress in Tamale.
We, however, think the situation is not all that hopeless, especially, when the police have come out to indicate how ready they are to provide security for the over 20,000 delegates and people that would be trooping to the Tamale Metropolis for the congress.
It is the hope of The Chronicle that whilst the police are doing their work, residents in the Tamale and their guests, would also cooperate to ensure an incident-free congress.
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