Ghana: Possession of Arms in the North Remains an Illegal

11 April 2008
Posted to the web 11 April 2008

Wisdom Dzidedi Donkor
Nyankpala

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804110696.html

Security agencies have been called upon to be alert over the illegal possession of fire arms by sections of the public, especially in the northern parts of the country.

Alhaji Seidu Iddi,who is the head of the Agriculture Economics Extension Department of the University for Development Studies (UDS),Nyankpala said even though the Public Order Law prohibits the possession of weapons especially with regards to the 1992 Northern conflicts, it is easy to see weapons of different categories in the public domain.

The Lecturer made the call at the Mid - Term Evaluation validation Workshop of the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) at Nyanpala last Thursday.

Alhaji Seidu said the law also made all arms in the northern regions with the exception of those in the hands of the security agencies illegal.

"In Tamale for instance, one could not licence a weapon and if your weapon is licensed in any part of the country, the licence expires as soon as it reaches Tamale", he said.

In his view it would take the vigilance of the security agencies to avert any havoc these arms could have on society.

He observed that there would be no need for the authorities to rush to retrieve them but rather, cautious and gradual efforts was needed in an attempt to retrieve them to ensure peace.

"Arms in this regard could be attributed to those being used by the security forces, but in our case small arms go beyond that", Alhaji Seidu said.

Alhaji Seidu further called on the general public to be tolerant with one another and not to resort to arms in times of misunderstanding. He said instead of arms they should use dialogue, which would leave no trace of regret, saying; "weapons do not trigger themselves".

Ms Afi Yakubu, the Associate Executive Director of FOSDA said in an election year, it was common to hear provocative comments from political opponents and urged Ghanaians to be tolerant in order to make the December general elections a peaceful one.

Ms Yakubu said in their attempt to educate the public on the need for tolerance, FOSDA had a programme dubbed "ballot not bullets" to educate the public not to look at elections as time to settle scores. She called on politicians to celebrate victories graciously and accept defeats in good faith.

Ms Yakubu said FOSDA has also trained over 200 youth for its "ballot but not bullets" programme to serve as peace educators at various places especially, electioneering campaign grounds.