Homeland Study Group Foundation must be stopped!

The Fourth Republican Constitution guarantees that “The sovereign State of Ghana is a unitary Republic consisting of those territories

comprised in the regions which, immediately before the coming into force of the Constitution, existed in Ghana, including the territorial sea and the air space.”

With the Constitution guaranteeing the territorial boundaries of Ghana, it will be difficult for anybody or group of individuals to decide to claim any part of Ghana.

 For some time now, a group, the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HASGF), based in Ho, the Volta regional capital, has been agitating for the secession of the Volta Region from Ghana.

The group is said to be stirring emotions in the region for the restoration of a so-called Western Togoland as a state and has set to declare independence for Western Togoland on May 9, 2017.

Ordinarily, we would not have paid any attention to the issues raised by the group but for the fact that it has, for quite some time now, been trumpeting this anti-national and separatist agenda.

We are rather surprised that so far the group has not been quizzed over its desire to secede from the rest of Ghana. What is worse, it has enjoyed media spotlight.

Giving reasons for the desire to secede a few months ago, the group argued that by the dictates of the 1956 plebiscite, the terms were no longer binding on the parties and that even certain portions of present Ghana were not considered during the referendum.

The Daily Graphic thinks that those ugly noises from the group may send the wrong signals to Ghana’s neighbours and the business community. But more worrying is the loud silence from the government concerning the activities of the group that threaten national security and cohesion.

Nonetheless, we think the Volta Regional Minister designate, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, was forthright when he told the Appointments Committee of Parliament (ACP) last Wednesday that the activities of the group would be dealt with.

He described those activities as treasonable and that the group should be dealt with by the National Security apparatus, adding that their actions endangered the country’s security and needed to be nipped in the bud.

Ghana needs peace to create opportunities for all to develop their God-given talents, but the activities of the group, if not checked, could disrupt the plans of the government to sustain the development of the country.

The Daily Graphic is happy that Dr Letsa has indicated the unlawfulness of the activities of the group. We are hopeful that if he is given the nod by Parliament, he will deal with the issues that threaten the peace of the region.

We wonder whether the agitations by the group represent the views of the people of the region.

We are also not abreast of all the reasons for the agitations, but we know that the sentiments could not represent the feelings of majority of the people in the region.

Be that as it may, the government should not allow the grievances of a few to destabilise the peace and stability of the country. Secession should be dealt with decisively before others who think like the HASGF decide to toy with the country’s future.

The Daily Graphic thinks the government should speak up against the activities of the group and take steps to deal with its concerns before it poisons the atmosphere with its campaign to break away from Ghana.

We are a unitary state and we should not tolerate those whose actions threaten the peace, stability and unity of the country.