The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for the Asante Akyem North constituency in the Ashanti Region, Kwadwo Baah Agyemang, has defended a decision by the youth of Agogo to abstain from political activities over the Fulani crisis that has plagued the area.
Although the MP conceded that no citizen could take the law into his or her hand, he argued that the citizens are also at liberty when it comes to association.
“Nobody can take the law into their own hands, but circumstances and situations push people to make some pronouncements. Political participation is a voluntary decision; people are not coerced to partake in political associations or activities,” he added.
[contextly_sidebar id=”r89ZLzQOBC4xOP2Lw8xquBIYgC65ebdi”]The Agogo Youth Association (AYASS) on Tuesday banned political activities in the town until the Fulani crisis is resolved.
Residents of Agogo have accused the Fulani herdsmen who take care of their cattle in the town of destroying their farms, maiming and killing their relatives.
According to the Chairman of AYASS, Emmanuel Buabeng, the decision to ban political activities in the area is because the Fulani issue has been politicized and that the only way to have the crisis addressed quickly, is to take politics out of it.
“We have realized that flushing out the Fulani herdsmen is becoming political and some politicians are mischievously making ill-comments and downplaying the effort of the ring leaders. Therefore, we ban all political activities be it fanfares, campaign or rallies until the last cattle leaves Agogo land,” he added.
Meanwhile, the MP, who has been very vocal on the Fulani crisis in a Citi News interview argued that rather than finding faults with the Agogo youth, the Fulani menace should be resolved.
“I think if the youth are saying that they are not going to participate in such events, I think it’s their own prerogative and we can’t coerce them. The purpose of this statement that they are making is something we should all look at and find out how we can address the issue instead of criticizing them or finding faults with their position,” he added.
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana