A finalist in the Municipal Chief Executive race for the La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipality, Dr. (Alhaji) Abubakari Sidick Ahmed, has called for calm to prevail in the area.

Dr. Ahmed, who was aspiring to be named the Municipal Chief Executive for the La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipality, missed out on the bid to Hon. Jennifer Dede Afagbedzi.

In a statement, he urged his teeming supporters, especially the youth, to respect the choice of President Nana Akufo-Addo.

“No individual or group of persons should engage in any acts that will threaten the peace and security that we enjoy and cherish most in the La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipality,” part of the statement issued on Thursday, September 23 reads.

Dr. Ahmed disclosed that he had already called the nominated MCE for the area, Jennifer Afagbezi, and assured her of his support.

“Please be informed that I have personally, as a sign of respect and goodwill, on the evening of Monday, 21st September 2021 called the appointed MCE, Hon. Jennifer Dede Afagbedzi to congratulate her on being renominated, and also assured her of my full support and collaboration during her second term in office."

"It is this noble gesture of goodwill that I want all my supporters to emulate so that together, we can help in bringing the needed development to Madina. We all need to embrace and support the nominated MCE to succeed,” the statement added.

He has urged persons in the La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly “to give Hon. Jennifer Dede Afagbedzi your overwhelming approval to enable her to raise the name of Madina to a higher level.”

Here is the full statement from Dr. Abubakari Sidick Ahmed

The announcement by the President of the Republic of the nominated Chief Executives of the various MMDAs through the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Hon. Dan Kwaku Botwe on Sunday, 19th September 2021 has been met with various reactions nationwide. There have been reported isolated cases of agitations, destruction of property, and threats to life.

I wish to formally use this medium to respectfully appeal to my teeming supporters, sympathisers, and admirers, especially the youth who feel disappointed because I did not get the nod, to respect the President’s choice and remain calm. No individual or group of persons should engage in any acts that will threaten the peace and security that we enjoy and cherish most in the La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipality.

Please be informed that I have personally, as a sign of respect and goodwill, on the evening of Monday, 21st September 2021 called the appointed MCE, Hon. Jennifer Dede Afagbedzi to congratulate her on being renominated, and also assured her of my full support and collaboration during her second term in office. It is this noble gesture of goodwill that I want all my supporters to emulate so that together, we can help in bringing the needed development to Madina. We all need to embrace and support the nominated MCE to succeed.

Now to my teeming supporters and sympathisers who know me personally and those who admire me from afar, I believe you will all reckon that any acts associated with violence are uncharacteristic of Dr. (Alhaji) Abubakari Sidick Ahmed. I am a man of faith, peace, and tolerance as demanded of me by my religion Islam. In this regard, I have always been a strong advocate of non-violence and will continue to remain so Insha’Allah.

The single most important thing which I want to draw your attention to is that Madina has a very rich history. A village that grew to become what it is today through the combined effort of the Institute of African Studies, and the Sociology Department both of the University of Ghana and backed by survey lecturers and their students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology through the invitation of the founder Seidu Kardo of blessed memory.

He named the then village after the Holy City of Madina located there in the Mosque of the Prophet. It is the second holiest site in Islam found in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Even though the name Madina was upheld by the Paul Tagoe Commission the reality of having two separate names (Nkwantanang and Madina) in the same vicinity was not feasible thus the fusion of the names La-Nkwantanang Madina.

The acceptance of all parties to the new name was a result of mutual understanding, respect for each other, cooperation, and tolerance. It is this spirit of fostering peace among people that is worthy of emulation by residents. This is akin to the famous Madina Charter signed between the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) and peoples of other faiths and ethnicity (Jews and Christians) in Madina.

The Charter guaranteed freedom of religion, peaceful coexistence, creation of a tolerant community or Umma, and offers the promise and hope of high-minded pluralism where people are not judged on their beliefs, but on their actions and the recognition that reason and tolerance are the essences of all peace.  We should always be guided that ignorance is the instigator of all tensions, and reason and tolerance are the essences of all peace.

Through tolerance and respect, we in La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipal area could set a tone in Ghana where it will be a common place for a passing Christian to say Peace be unto you to a Muslim, who will in turn reply, Peace be upon you too. I yearn for that day when these reciprocal gestures would be common place in the La-Nkwantanang Madina area and Ghana as a whole. What a formidable local or national community would we be?

So let us honour the memories of the then La Mantse Nii Anyetei Kwakwaranya II and the Chiefs and peoples of La-Nkwantanang, their forebears, and Seidu Kardo the head of the settler community who together toiled, and nurtured Madina, by not engaging in any acts that will discredit their names and heritage. Nii Kotei Dzoor 1 the current Madina Mantse still has continued with this tradition of championing peaceful coexistence. I, therefore, entreat the youth, to let prudence, civility, temperance, and non-violence be the ultimate guide of all your actions.

Finally, to all members of the La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly, I crave your positive indulgence to give Hon. Jennifer Dede Afagbedzi your overwhelming approval to enable her to raise the name of Madina to a higher level.

May Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful be our guide as we all strive to make Madina a better place. To my teeming supporters, I leave you with a simple but powerful quotation from the Prophet Mohammed (SAW), who said: “None of you [truly] believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." I also strongly subscribe to the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr, who during his activism once said: "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

So, I encourage you to follow suit and let peace, love, and harmony prevail in the La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipality.

THE BATTLE IS STILL THE LORD’s.

ALLHAMDULILLAH

Long live the people of La Nkwantanang Madina Municipality.

Long Live Mother Ghana.

(ALHAJI) ABUBAKARI SIDICK AHMED

MADINA ZONGO