Addressing Ethnic Laced hateful messages in Social Media Sites

Mohammed A. Abu

The Northern Regional Secretariat of the National Peace Council of Ghana, the Northern Regional Peace Council(NRPC), has called upon the national security apparatus to arrest and prosecute faceless individuals engaged in hateful audio-visual messages amid press releases circulating in social media platforms pitching ethnic groups against each other.

This is in view of the fact that, such acts seek to undermine the peace and security of the region through false publications.

The Council while condemning the press releases and all ethnocentric text, audio and video materials circulating in social media sites, has also urged the general public not only to disregard those hateful publications but continue to live harmoniously with one another without regard to ethnic, religious, political and any form of social difference.

The Council has therefore entreated the public to stay away from ethnocentric behaviours, machinations, and all tendencies that seek to divide or sow seeds of discord within the fibers of multicultural societies in Northern Region.

Individuals and groups are requested to avoid sharing and giving free publicity to hateful and ethnocentric speeches/statements.

These were contained in an official statement signed on behalf of the NRPC’s Chairman,the Most,Reverend Bishop Mathew Yetiereh, issued in Tamale, Friday.

The Council further entreated all youth associations to use dialogue rather than press conferences/releases which only escalate social problems in intergroup relations situations.

“Peaceful coexistence among all ethnic, religious and political party groups should be the prime focus of all peace-loving Ghanaians.

“The Council entreats groups and individuals to be vanguards of peace and development rather than interfering in matters of traditional governance. youth groups should allow state and non-state institutions to address social tensions emanating from traditional governance systems rather than interfering and undermining established authorities.

“Issues of educational performances, poor health services and sanitation, substance abuse, agricultural growth, youth unemployment, and improvement in the living conditions of the good people of Northam Region should be your utmost priority” the statement further added.