MEMBERS OF the Konkomba community in the Upper East Regional have underscored the urgent need for all Konkombas to use education to rebrand themselves and let the world know they are not violent as they have been portrayed in sections of the media or perceived by some people.
By rebranding, members want all Konkombas to take education seriously through which they can dismiss the perceived notion that they are violent and war mongers. According to them, due to lack of education, a lot of negative things had been said of Konkombas in the past which were not true but due to the fact that they could not correct the wrong impression that had been created about them.
Members said this at the inauguration of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic’s chapter of Konkomba Students’ Union (KONSU) held on Saturday at Sumbrungu near Bolgatanga.
Speaker after speaker, mainly opinion leaders, regretted that Konkomba as a tribe is often associated wrongly with conflict and violence especially in the media and in order for the wrong impression to be corrected, parents must endeavour not only to send their children to school but must also invest in their education from the basic to the tertiary level.
They emphasised the need for girl child education which they said has not been given the needed attention in‘Kiikpakpaaln’ (land of Konkombas). According to them, some parents still prepare to give their daughters out for marriage to sending them to school while others remove their daughters from school and give them out for marriage.
They condemned the practice and advised parents to bring an end to it because most of the Konkomba girls who have been given little push in school by their parents have performed well academically. They however admitted a few also disappointed their parents by toying with their education by dropping out.
Mr. Reuben Jagri Binpori, one of the opinion leaders at the function who first raised the issue of rebranding stated that “it’s God who made us Konkombas and so let’s work hard to erase all the wrong impressions about our tribe”.
He was not happy that in spite of the fact that Konkombas are the second largest tribe in the Northern Region with 11 MPs, only one of them was given a ministerial appointment in the current Mahama’s administration which was not even a cabinet position.
Mr. Naada John, Upper East Regional Manager of the Wild Life Division of the Forestry Commission who chaired the inauguration ceremony, encouraged Konkombas not to hide their identify for any reason.
He reminded the students to be discipline and study hard to accomplish their main aim of achieving academic laurels. This way, they will get jobs after school and also go back home to support their parents and younger ones make it in life.
As part of the move to unit all Konkombas in the Upper East Region, members have hinted of the formation of the Upper East Chapter of Konkomba Youth Association (KOYA).
The President of KONSU, Mr. Philp Mabimba in his speech praised his colleagues to their level of maturity and good behaviour on campus and urged them to keep it up. He stated that as a new union, their major challenge was finance and appealed to leaders of the tribe to assist the union financially to enable it grow.
Out of a total of 31 members who formed B-Poly branch of KONSU, only one female is among. This obviously speaks of why the opinion leaders want Konkomba parents to give equal chance and support to the daughters like their sons to also go and succeed in school.
Mr. James Anaba Akologo, acting Patron of the Union lauded the comportment of the students and campus and urged them to keep it up. He also wants them to focus on their books because this was the only way they could pass all their examinations.
Some of the members present at the function included Mr. Issaka Konja, Mr. Sando Biliba, Mr. Benjamin Jabik, Mr. Lafia J. Joseph, Mr. Godfred Njindon, Mr. Bashiru Mahama and Mr. George Tanam.
From: William N-lanjerborr Jalulah | A1Radioonline.com | Ghana
