Shun Electoral Violence - Pumpuni Asante urges youth
The Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at the Center for Democratic Development Ghana (CDD-Ghana) has urged young Ghanaians to resist the lure of political actors to engage them in electoral violence.
Dr Kojo Pumpuni Asante said the short-term benefits being used as bait to recruit the youth into politically-motivated violence are not worth the long terms effects such actions have on the individuals themselves. and the state at large.
He rather urged the youth to mobilise and demand better governance rather than give in to the whims and caprices of the political class.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, he said, “The parties, those young people who are being enticed with little, you know, short-term benefits that ‘oh yeah, go and defend your party, go and defend your party’, when you’re dead the only thing they will do is probably buy a nice coffin for you and maybe give a lump sum money to your family.
“That is what will happen. So they also have to wise up, like what Dr Akwetey is saying about the young people, they’re intelligent, and they also have to wise up. That this game is really a game that only benefits a few people.”
He further added that poverty and unemployment should not be made an excuse to justify why some youth join violent political crusades.
“It’s not an excuse. It’s no excuse. It’s just that we have seen this movie played over and over again and so if you also don’t learn the lesson, I’m sure you can ask people their stories of their friends who have been maimed and hurt and you know or some have died chasing these things.
“And what happened to them? Are they billionaires after that? No. so I think that they also have to wise up that when people are inciting people to go and do this and that that they will not be there themselves, they’re not going to bring their children there, they will be the first people that are far away from the scene when these things happen,” he said.
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