Some of the burnt houses
For the first time in our contemporary history, we are saddled with the challenge of internally displaced persons, the fallout from the violence in Hohoe.
We are saddened by the development and pray that all Ghanaians would spare a thought for the distressed people of this usually tranquil location, with a view to arriving at an amicable resolution of the security challenge.
Until the recent avoidable fracas which saw people who have lived with each other for so long jumping at each other’s throat, Hohoe has not been associated with this level of lawlessness and intolerance.
Now that it has happened and relationships damaged, all we can ask is for all the aggrieved parties to sheath their swords and consider the effects of the current state of lawlessness.
The degree of lawlessness is evidenced in the brazen act of arson which took place during curfew hours.
Let all the aggrieved consider the greater good of the community and allow bygones to be bygones. This way, peace would reign.
All who played a part in what happened in the otherwise peaceful Hohoe municipality should assess their individual roles and how these coalesced to ignite the fire which nearly consumed the location.
Through this, we shall discover the importance of tolerance and how this virtue can obviate mayhem and unnecessary ado which lead to a total breach of law and order in the community.
While the indigenes of Hohoe goofed badly in the almost sacrilegious act of exhuming the remains of the Imam of the municipality, the Muslim youth too acted rather harshly in torching the palace of the chief.
Both sides have cases to answer for, having a hand in whatever threatened the peaceful existence of the town.
One great lesson we should learn from what transpired is the fact that in whatever situation of frustration we find ourselves, we should not lose our heads. Had the chief not prevented residents of the Zongo community from burying their dead in the cemetery, perhaps those responsible for the exhumation could not have dared to do what they did.
When people who hold important responsibilities such as chiefs exercise utmost restraint in whatever situation they find themselves, they contribute immensely towards the common peace in their communities.
Be that as it may, we once more ask for the burying of the hatchet at this time as the authorities scratch their heads for a lasting solution to this security challenge.
We salute the regional minister for his efforts so far, especially his behind-the-scene consultations to resolve the bloody impasse.
It is our wish that things would normalize soon enough for those who fled to return because there is no community in the world in which strangers have not played a part in building. The USA, Britain, France and even Accra and Kumasi all have a high concentration of descendants of immigrants whose ancestors contributed immensely towards their development.
We urge government to expedite action in fending for the needs of the displaced and the vulnerable persons still taking cover for fear of reprisals.
