body-container-line-1
31.01.2012 General News

Minister charge members of NSU to foster unity

By GNA
Minister charge members of NSU to foster unity
31.01.2012 LISTEN

Wa, Jan. 30, GNA – Mr Mark Woyongo, Upper East Regional Minister has urged the Northern Students Union (NSU) to foster unity among the people in the three northern regions in order to stem the ethnic conflicts that destabilise the area.

He said unity of purpose was the only way out to promote peaceful co-existence and sustainable peace for the development of the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

Mr Woyongo who was addressing a media forum of NSU in Wa, as a Guest of Honour, said some parents were looking up to students for guidance and challenged the union not to shun that responsibility.

He said the time has come for them to get actively involved in sensitising their parents to cultivate the habit of dialoguing to permeate the society as a way of solving problems.

Mr Woyongo noted that the time has come for northerners to see the north as one big ethnic group that should not be undermined through political, religious and other sectional differences.

He said the youth have a duty to help prepare a safe future for themselves, explaining that conflicts in the north are jeopardising their future and they have a collective responsibility to help address.

“Everybody in the north must be an apostle for peace. We must avoid seeing our brothers and sisters who belong to different political parties, religious sects and other social groupings as enemies. Our only and number one enemy is poverty,” he stressed.

Mr Woyongo therefore tasked the youth to make sure that the guns and other weapons that are in the custody of their parents which they could possibly use to foment conflicts are collected and sent to the security agencies.

He said government's pro-poor intervention would not bring any benefits to the people if conflicts are the lot of the people.

Mr Woyongo asked the media to change the over concentration of negative reporting on issues of the north and rather help to bring out the good things about the people and other potentials areas that had not been fully exploited.

“Negative reporting impacts negatively on development since it helps drive away investors and brings no benefits to the people.

Mr Woyongo said: “Journalists do not report in the vacuum; they mirror societal norms and those norms reflect the kind of reportage the journalists put across.”

The Regional Minister also expressed worry about the attitude of some non-governmental organisations that were found to be reporting negatively on issues about the north in order to attract funds from sponsors and advised such bodies to stop the practice.

Mr Woyongo called on members of the NSU to assist basic and senior high students in the three regions to prepare for their examinations in order to push them on the academic ladder.

He said concerted efforts must also be made to sponsor the activities of the union and called on the district assemblies in the three regions to facilitate the process.

The occasion was used to honour Mr John Tia Akologu, out-going Minister of Information and some distinguished citizens from the north.

GNA

body-container-line