The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin has stated that despite the aggressive rhetoric from politicians leading up to the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, he believes that Ghana will demonstrate its civility before, during, and after the election.
He noted that Ghana has experienced several successful elections under the Fourth Republic and has continued to progress since 1992.
During the Okyeman Nifa Royal Durbar held in his honour as part of the activities commemorating the King’s 25th Anniversary celebration, the Okyenhene encouraged the youth and all voters to responsibly exercise their rights in the 2024 election.
He emphasized that Ghana has a history of successful elections and urged voters to choose candidates who can bring development to the country.
‘We have done it before, Since 1992 and Ghana remains stronger and together. On December 7, go to the polling centre and vote for a candidate who can bring development to you, go home after voting, you may decide to come and witness the counting process in the evening or stay home and listen to the results from the media. At the end of the day, one will emerge as the winner. If you lose the election, take a chilled drink, the sun shall set and rise again,” he advised.
The Okyenhene also stressed the importance of forgiveness and love among Ghanaians, citing a song by King Paluta called “Aseda,” which encourages forgiveness.
He called on Ghanaians to display patriotism and selflessness, especially those in public service.
“The musician called King Paluta has lyrics on forgiveness. I think the song title is Aseda and It says: forgive me if I have wronged you, I have forgiven your sins; We must learn to forgive each other. No issue can’t be resolved by dialogue.
“In Akan the difficult sin to forgive and forget is when your brother has an affair with your wife and vice versa, even with that, we still deal with the issue. During my 25th anniversary celebration, I have cancelled every grudge in Jesus’ name. Let’s love ourselves and help each other,” he added.
In terms of education, he highlighted the need for an emphasis on skills development and entrepreneurship to create job opportunities for the youth.
The Okyenhene commended government investments in education and urged the state to create a conducive environment for job creation to address unemployment.
Source: Maxwell Kudekor