They say a Journalist must remove himself from his or her story ethically. I agree but in some circumstances it is, impossible like this story.
Agogo known as the naturally walled town is located in the Asante Akim North District in Ashanti Region of Ghana. It was famous for the Agogo Presbyterians Hospital, whose eye clinic became the referral point for West Africa. It is home to the evergreen Highlife Legend, Abrantie Amakye Dede and Kofi B. Incidentally Ofori Amponsah known in musical cycles as Mr. All4Real grew up there.
Agogo is a farming community and as such a food basket of Ghana. The hard working people produce Plantain, Cassava, Coco yam, Maize, Yam, Tomatoes, Onions, Water Melon, the foreign exchange earner Cocoa and several others.
I know that the backbone of every economy is agriculture and therefore the governments will jealously guard it. Unfortunately in the case of the people of Agogo the case is different. The people produce food at the peril of their lives.
Demonstration, Agogo
Aside bad roads, constantly their farms are either set on fire or over run by armed Fulani Herdsmen and their cattle. A situation which has persisted for a long time. There has been several unsuccessful attempts by government to resolve the problem but their effort has yielded no results. There has been several demonstrations by the people including a resent one in which the Queen Mother took part to get government to suck the Herdsmen and their cattle but the commitment of government has been half hearted.
The feud between the Fulani and the people of Agogo has claimed lives from both sides running close to a hundred excluding bodies that could not be found. The latest was the death of the fetish priest of the Agogo traditional area but there is no end in sight. Women are afraid to go to farms unaccompanied because they risk being raped by the Fulani. Men have abandoned their farms because their lives are in danger.
Demonstrators, Agogo
The result is that the food basket (Agogo) lie waste as the people starve. the crops that once flooded the Agogo market and markets in bigger cities are scarce to the people themselves. To add salt to injury, most of the arable lands have been to sold to a company for timber cultivation. The timber contractor in turn is pulling farms with impunity.
Another incident that is worth crying about is that the security team of police and military detailed to ensure that both side can co-exit are helpless with a So called order from above. They feed on the scarce taxes of the traditional council and yet still cannot protect them.
We call for an immediate resolution of the problem or livelihood will be lost thus forcing the youth to seek greener pastures where there are none.
Gyasi Appiah
