Accra, Oct 06, GNA – Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has asked Ghanaians, especially those on the Fulani herdsmen’s trail, not to see all Fulanis as bad people.
The Minister said the prevailing narrative that Fulanis were migrants, bad individuals and only fighting farmers and destroying farmlands were unbecoming, hence the need to involve the media, the Government, the churches, the Muslim communities and various relevant organisations to help tackle the menace.
Mr Boateng said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a meeting held between the Fulani Chiefs and the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to discuss chieftaincy related matters.
The Minister said, “even if one Fulani commits an offense, rather than identifying and charging the person, they generalise it, which is not right, so it is a mentality that we need to do away with.”
He also noted the importance of engaging the state institutions which could help effect the mindset change, particularly the Education Ministry, stating that he would also engage other ministers to discuss the issue.
“So, it is up to government to make sure that we live in peace and also work together as a team, and the issues of difficulties in Fulanis accessing National ID cards, Passport and others will also be dealt with, also I have made my office available to issues related to such,” he stressed.
Mr Boateng said the Ministry would be engaging the Fulani Chiefs as well, and that should there be the need to enact a law in that direction, it would be taken into consideration.
The Minister added that, “the problem with legislation is that it comes with punishments but I believe that we need not to force people but teach them to understand the right thing to do.”
Chief Iddrisu Mohammed Bingle, National President, National Council of Fulani Chiefs, said the Council had been in existence over the years, but was officially formed in 2018.
Chief Bingle said the meeting was to introduce the Council formally to the Minister and present to them issues affecting the Council.
He noted that one of the major challenges facing the Fulanis, was Fulanis were mostly ignored when when finding solutions to Fulani-related problems, hence the importance of the meeting.
The National President said the Minister had given them the go ahead to engage the Ministry to develop a roadmap to tackle such issues.
GNA