By Gilbert Azeem Tiroog
Pikworo (U/E) July 24, GNA – Mr Seth Adjei Baah, Board Chairman of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), has indicated that days where agony, sorrow and other inhuman treatment, were meted out to ancestors, who were chained in shackles, auctioned and sold, are over.
He said, but for disunity, it was not possible for only three people, as history has it, to have settled, captured, and sold their forebears as they desired.
He therefore said there was the need for all stakeholders to unite regardless of their political or religious differences and work towards the development of the country.
Mr Baah made the remarks when he addressed stakeholders at the Pikworo slave camp in Nania in the Kassena Nankana West District in the Upper East Region to mark the Emancipation Day Celebration.
“When the tour guide was taking me around, a lot of things came to my mind, and I began to ask myself some questions because I was told some three people just came to settle here, captured our people, and sold them out just three people, and they were foreigners, and I don’t think if we were united they could do what they did,” he stated.
The Board Chairman added that “we were divided with the mentality that if it is not my son or my nephew, why should I border myself to go and rescue or fight for, and that is what happened. Today, we want to say, Never Again should these things happen”.
This year’s Emancipation Day was held on the theme “Unity and Resilience: Building Stronger Communities for a Brighter Future.”.
Mr Akwasi Agyeman, the Chief Executive Officer of GTA, emphasized that though Emancipation Day was a time for reflection on the difficulties our forefathers went through, it was also a period to give the people strength and instill in them the need to work together to build a future of hope.
He added that the Authority was committed to completing ongoing projects, including an administrative block, car park, gatehouse, washrooms, and other
amenities, by the end of the year for successful celebrations of Emancipation Day at the Pikworo slave camp yearly.
Pe Ditundini Adiali Ayagitam III, the Paramount Chief of the Chiana Tradition Area and president of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, noted that the formal abolition of slavery and slave trade was achieved by a dint of hard work, and Ghanaians must demonstrate a collective commitment to build stronger communities.
“While the scars of slavery will continue to be engraved in our minds, we must use these experiences left behind in Ghana and in other African countries to spur us on to work diligently to create sustainable pathways that enhance our unity and strengthen our resilience,” he added.
The Paramount Chief lauded the efforts of the GTA for extending the celebration of Emancipation Day to the areas that suffered the pain and effect of the slave trade.
Mr Wisdom Ahadzi, the Upper East Regional Director of the GTA, called on government and other stakeholders to the ongoing discussion for an airport for the region to fasten their work to boost tourism.
He added that most returnees could not make it to the celebration because they missed their flights, and an airport in the region could have been helpful.
Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper East Regional Minister, in a speech read on his behalf, said the government would continue to support the celebration of Emancipation Day through the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Arts in its quest to promote unity and solidarity among Africans.
Thomas Riddick, a representative of the Diaspora family from America, called on Ghanaians and Africans in the Diaspora to support their home soil by contributing to its development needs.
Emancipation Day is celebrated every year in Ghana since 1998 to mark the abolition of slavery in the British colonies in 1834.
GNA