IC Quaye foils bloody clash

The timely intervention and ingenuity of the Gretaer Accra Regional Minister, Sheikh IC Quaye last Friday foiled what could have been a bloody clash between the youths of Gbawe and Weija over the name and the citing of the capital of the Ga South Municipal Assembly.
He took the action when he had information that tension was brewing within the newly created municipality, with youth from Weija and Gbawe about to clash at the Institute of Technical Supervision (ITS) at Weija where the inauguration was to take place.
He quickly moved to the residence of the various opinion leaders of the two factions and held consultations with them and promised to change the name and the capital of the district from the advertised Weija to Ga South and Gbawe to save the situation.
The regional minister then moved to the inauguration grounds, where armed police men were keeping a buffer zone to keep the two factions from clashing and announced the new name, which was received with applause from both sides.
It all started when the creation of the new district was announced. The youth of Gbawe, led by Mr Samuel Akotey Quartey, who is also the secretary to Gwae-Quatey family, started writing petitions to the President and organising press conferences to the effect that it would not be fair to name the municipality after Weija.
On the day of the inauguration, the Gbawe youth clad in red and holding placard and singing war song marched from the Mallam Junction to the venue of the inauguration.
At the venue, Mr Quartey told journalists that while Weija was a small village within the municipality created, there were bigger towns which had all the necessary facilities capable to being a municipal capital.
“Our biggest problem is that Weija had been named after a constituency and also used in creating an area council so we want to ask the government is it because they hate other bigger communities or Weija is the only community within the municipality”.
Just as the Weija Youth were demonstrating at the inauguration grounds, the youth from Gbawe also called in red bands and carrying placards, entered the area.
But for the timely intervention of armed policemen, the two would have clashed. But this did not pass off without insults and insinuasive song from each other.
Another person who received commendation from both sides was Chief Superintendent Abubakar Mohammed, Divisionsl Commander of the Kaneshie.
Instead of asking his men to use force to separate the two groups, he made the leadership of the groups to understand that in the current democratic dispensation, any individual or group had the right to demonstrate.
But, he made them to understand that this democratic right must be exercised within the remit of the law and that it would be better to demonstrate to voice out their grievances without necessarily clashing to cause loss of limb or life.
The two groups in unison clapped for the police officer and abided by the admonition. The ceremony ended peacefully.