Pressure group Coalition for the Defence of Equal Citizenship (CODEC) will today hit the streets to protest what they call ethnocentric pronouncements being made by members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The demonstration dubbed “one nation, one people, we are all equal” they say, is inspired by President Mahama’s call for peaceful co-existence of all ethnic groups in the country.
They say the President Mahama was forced to make the statement due to the controversy sparked by ethnocentric comments on an alleged secret tape recording of former Finance Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo.
In an interview with Citi News, the convener of the group, Edudzi Kudzo Tameklo, insisted these ethnic comments are divisive and has the potential to destroy the country hence their resolve.
“We are saying that any comment be it from Osafo Marfo or whoever that has the potential of derailing all the gains that we have made as a people. Particularly those that border on ethnicity, and that is what this whole match is all about.To let Ghanaians know that the political leaders and civil society groups must watch out for people who make comments that have the potential of destroying us and disuniting us.”
Osafo Marfo tape saga
The former Finance Minister under the erstwhile Kufuor administration, Yaw Osafo Marfo was accused of making ethnocentric comments on a leaked tape.
On the said secret tape, the former Finance Minister was alleged to have said that indigenes of regions with no natural resources are at the helm of affairs although about 90 percent of Ghana’s natural resources are largely found in Akan-speaking regions.
“ You have all the resources, but you have no say in the management of your resources and that is what happening.
Your development depends on the one who has no resources…” the voice said.
The tape is said to have been recorded at a meeting between Yaw Osafo Marfo and the NPP’s Council of Elders in the Eastern region. Yaw Osafo Marfo has come under intense criticism since the said leaked tape went viral.
The NPP has however dissociated itself from the controversial tape.
