The Coalition of Concerned Youth Of the Northern Region has taken notice of some unfortunate and disrespectful statements made by the Minister for food and agriculture Mr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto aimed at deliberately denigrating people from the Northen part of this country.
The Agric minister in an interview with joynews suggested that people of the Northern regions in this few years he has been the minister of Agric are now able to roof our houses with modernized roofing sheets, build with cement blocks and buy motorbikes for ourselves. This in his incompetent estimation is as a result of the government’s planting for food and jobs.
This statement is most unfortunate and very dishonorable to have come from a minister of state. Ministers of state are expected to have an appreciable knowledge of the history of the country they serve so that they can be guided in their public engagements. It appears the minister of Agric is having a single story of the northen regions that depicts only poverty and suffering. It must be instructed that the people of the Northen regions built thatch houses not as a result of poverty but as a symbol of cultural heritage and pride. This essentially is the reason why our chief palaces are all thatch houses even when there’s been significant shift towards morden building styles.
The regions covers an area of 70,0000km square and occupies 30 percent of the total land area of the country. To the best of our ability we have always put this endowed vast land to use in the interest of ourselves and the nation at large. We make these efforts with or without any government’s intervention. We the People of the Northern regions have since the period before this minister was born been planting to give ourselves and the nation food and jobs. We have planted to buy bicycles, motorcycles, vehicles. We have planted to build houses that includes storey buildings. We have planted to give our children quality education and improve our living standards.
The Coalition finds these irresponsibly false statements very insulting and disrespectful to the people of the Northern regions in gross proportions. Therefore we demand the immediate retraction and resignation of the minister for food and agriculture Mr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto.
The Coalition further uses this opportunity to caution all public officers and government appointees to treat us with outmost respect in their public engagements. The people of the regions are very cognizant of our right to personal dignity. For that matter any attempt to trample upon this right will met with full resistance from us.
…Signed…
Suadique Musah
(Convener Coalition of concerned Youth Of the Northern Region (CYN))
0248735361
Ibrahim Rashida Wumbei
Secretary – Coalition of Concerned Youth Of Northern Region (CCYN)
0248044486
