The Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission (NMC), George Sarpong, is advising the Ghanaian youth to reject a disturbing idea in the media that the next general election is a contest between two “northerners”.
He has also cautioned the youth not to lock “yourselves in the empty feeling, as if the contest is all about a northern thing, and so all of them are the same.”
He said the media appears to be defining the next course of the 2024 elections with a certain conception of the two flagbearers being northerners and advised them to stop the “northernisation” of the public discourse and “focus on the issue of which of the candidates’ vision would drive this nation.”
Addressing students of Effiduase Senior High Commercial School, as part of EFFISCO@80 celebration at Effiduase, in the Ashanti region, last Saturday, Mr Sarpong emphasised that it “does not matter that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is a Mamprusi from Walewale in the North East region and Former President John Mahama is a Gonja from Bole in the Savannah region”.
The Executive Secretary, who is also an alumnus of EFFISCO and the Guest Speaker lamented that there are many tribes in the north and, therefore, labelling all these diverse cultures as “northerners” can deny “them social equity and limit their opportunity for accessing public office,” which can impede their visions and undermine social progress.
Mr Sarpong encouraged all the young people to look out for leaders who embody the EFFISCO spirit of Vision, Resilience and Excellence, as the country gravitate towards next year’s elections.
He paid glowing tribute to the late Mr E.R. Addow, who founded EFFISCO and originally named it Modern School of Commerce (MODESCO), through whose vision the school has become what it is today.
Alhaji Ishaq Kyei Brobbey, Board Chairman of the school noted that the 2022 WASSCE results reaffirm its vision as a centre of excellence, and said its alumni are involved in different sectors of life and contributing their quota to the local, national and the global economy.
Nana Adu Ameyaw II, Effiduasehene, in a message, observed that teaching has become far more complex than before, and yet the core of education remains the same.
He admonished teachers to “continue to uphold learner diversity and developing students’ potential, as well as inculcating positive values in them.
From Thomas Agbenyegah Adzey, Effiduase-Ash
