Statement: Upper West Regional Minister Has Lost Touch With Reality

As it may be recalled, a group of concerned and enthusiastic citizens of the Upper West Region sacrificed their time, energy and resources to embark on a peaceful demonstration to on Saturday, November 3, 2018 to draw the attention of all relevant stakeholders to the subtle and surreptitious attempts by the authorities of the University for Development Studies to weaken, cripple and eventually collapse the Wa Campus of the University through a so-called realignment policy.

This group of concerned citizens of the Upper West Region comprises people of diverse backgrounds and orientation. The common denominator that has brought all of us together to embark on this crusade is the development of the Upper West Region. The rationality and level-headedness of the members of this group is unquestionable. The group has received commendations from all facets of society because of the nobility of the agenda being pursued. The group is following in the footsteps of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs who petitioned then President John Mahama to initiate action to grant autonomy to the Wa Campus of the University as a fully-fledged University. And followed up with President Nana Addo. The Land owners of Wa are currently in court seeking for justice to be done to the Wa Campus and by extension the Upper West Region.

Unfortunately, whilst all of this is happening, our Regional Minister who ordinarily should have been the chief spokesman for this crusade, is rather insulting the sensibilities of the group and casting aspersions at us. The Minister in an answer to question on Radio Progress, a local radio station in WA said that the group which embarked on that demonstration last Saturday is an aimless group. In the words of the minister, the demonstrators do not know what they are about.

We find these comments in bad taste and a departure from the fatherly role that the Regional Minister should play as far as a very critical matter as the UDS realignment policy is concerned. His unguarded comments amount to a betrayal of the position he occupies as a minister and probably an indication that he has lost touch with reality and doesn’t deserve to continue to hold that office of a minister.

In this struggle, the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs has been very instrumental lending loads of support and encouragement to us. Does the minister suggest that the House of Chiefs comprising eminent chiefs of enormous wisdom and insight doesn’t know what it’s about. We are convinced that our minister has goofed one time too many and it’s high time he revises his approach to this matter before we are compelled to confront him head on. His needless intervention that stopped a similar demonstration some few months back is still fresh in our minds. He ought to be reminded that we are simply exhibiting the virtue of respect for the elderly and authority. It doesn’t in any way suggest weakness or timidity. We therefore demand an unqualified apology from him for calling us an aimless bunch of people or he faces our wrath. Thank you.

Issahaque Suleman
(Sulega)
Co convener