No To Massacre, Yes To Peace - Nana Addo

Nana Akufo-Addo chats with NDC Youth Organiser Ludwig Hlordze and Boakye Agyarko of NPP at Nana’s house yesterday

Flagbearer of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stressed the party’s commitment to ensure peace before, during and after the December 7, 2012 general elections.

“I do not think that the spilling of a single drop of a Ghanaian blood is worth my victory, but at the same time the security agencies should not act as agents of any party and ensure a lasting peace before and after the elections,” Nana Addo said during an interaction with a group of political parties.

According to him, “The NPP’s commitment to peace in our country is non-negotiable” therefore “the NPP will never be the first party to throw stones; we are too committed and too ready to the principle of democratic accountability”.

Speaking to journalists at a programme put together by the Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung and the Inter-Party Youth committee (IPYC) to campaign for a violence-free election this year, Nana Addo said, “We have a programme to the development of our country and we are not going to be able to do it if Ghana is in pieces.”

In that regard, he noted that “making sure that Ghana stays as one is central to our objectives and aspirations”.

That, he said, was the reason he made a statement in the year 2008 in which he noted “I did not think that the spilling of a single drop of Ghanaian blood was worth my victory.”

As events later turned out, Nana Addo said, “even with the smallest margin of victory or defeat; depending on the way you look at it in our history, we lived up to the commitment and made sure there was peaceful transfer of power in 2008.”

Present were the national youth organisers of the various political parties and their deputies.

 The programme is expected to be held throughout the country at zonal points with visits to flagbearers of the four major political parties, the two former presidents and incumbent President John Mahama to commit them to a peaceful election. 

Commitment

Nana Addo therefore indicated that whatever the outcome of the upcoming elections might be, “maintaining the peace of our nation is paramount”.

“The issues on the table about peace and stability of the nation are our issue,” he said, insisting that “nothing has changed; it’s our commitment to ensure that Ghana goes through a peaceful process.”

Coming from the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition that holds itself as the beacon of the rule of law, the flagbearer of the NPP said, “We will do whatever it takes to ensure that we will do whatever is necessary to make sure that this process is a peaceful one.”

He called on the leaders of political parties and the various stakeholders including the various security agencies to show the same level of commitment to the rule of law and human rights.

Nana Addo was of the strongest conviction that the various security agencies hold part of the key to peace and stability in the upcoming elections, insisting, “If we have security services that do their work impartially, do their work in a responsible manner; that is the best guarantee that we will have peace in our country.”