“True strength is the ability to hold dialogue when anger tells you to fight. True strength is protecting the vulnerable when apathy tempts you to look away. True strength is standing for peace when the crowd demands war,” it said.
Mr Akuka Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Programmes Manager of AAG, said this at a conference to commemorate the International Youth Day held at Bolgatanga on the theme: “Peaceful communities, safe schools: The youth as ambassadors of peace.”
The conference was part of the activities to mark AAG’s 35th Anniversary celebration and brought together officials from the Regional Peace Council, Ghana Education Service, the National Youth Authority, National Commission for Civic Education, Ghana Police Service, members of Activista Ghana, Young Urban Women’s Movement, students and the media.
Mr Yakubu said the youth were not powerless, neither were they victims of circumstances but builders of peace, custodians of hope, as well as change makers, and challenged them to be ambassadors of peace in their schools and communities.
“Take responsibility in promoting peace in your communities by preaching peace with truth and understanding,” Mr Yakubu said.
He encouraged young people in the Region, especially students, to collaborate with their teachers, parents, community leaders, local assemblies and the police to ensure peace in their respective communities, saying peace required partnership and collaborative efforts.
“Our region is a proud one, rich in culture, community solidarity, and resilience. Yet, we cannot ignore the truth: the Upper East Region sits at a fragile crossroads. Internally, we continue to grapple with pockets of tribal conflicts, land disputes, chieftaincy disputes, and school-related violence,” he said.
Mr Yakubu said externally, the Region remained vulnerable to the ripple effects of insecurity in the Sahel, where violent extremist activities in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali had displaced thousands, some of whom crossed the borders into the Region.
He said it was worrying that schools, especially Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Region, which should be grounds of learning, creativity and hope, rather recorded instances of violence, vandalism, rioting and unrest, disrupting the very spaces meant to prepare them for the future.
“Just this year, five SHSs namely the Bawku Senior High, Bawku Technical Institute, Sirigu Integrated SHS, Zuarungu SHS and Bolgatanga Technical Institute, have experienced disturbances, which has resulted in dire consequences for students including innocent, peaceful and obedient students,” he said.
Mr Yakubu added that communities, especially Bawku and its surroundings, had carried the heavy burden of conflict for too long, “Generations of young people have grown up knowing division more than unity, fear more than freedom.
“But today, let us declare boldly: we are the generation that will end this cycle. We are the youth who choose peace over revenge, dialogue over violence, and cooperation over conflict,” he added.
Mr Yakubu said peace was not built in conference halls alone but must begin in the classroom when students refused to riot and destroy school properties, and in communities when young men would choose dialogue instead of weapons.
He called on the government and other stakeholders to take bold steps to tackle the triggers of violence in schools and communities before they became pervasive.
Mr Donatus Akamugri Atanga, the Upper East Regional Minister, in a speech read on his behalf, said young people had the right to live in peaceful environments and the responsibility to keep their environment peaceful.
“Young people are the future leaders and need to be disciplined and abide by norms, rules and regulations of every institution or place they find themselves. Of course, there might be issues and grievances at any place, but there are approved ways of dealing with them,” he said.
He stated that young people were often used as conduits to perpetuate violence and advised them against taking the laws into their hands, as acts of violence were not only detrimental to the rule of law, but could lead to chaos and anarchy in the region.
GNA
