Minister Ridiculed Over Conflicts

NORTHERN REGIONAL Minister Alhaji Mohammed Muniru-Limuna has stated that recurring conflicts in the region have subjected him to public ridicule among his colleague ministers.

Ministers from other regions, he disclosed, make mockery of him each time they are together, a situation he mentioned could have been avoided if residents cultivated the habit of peaceful co-existence.

Whereas some of his colleagues sympathise with his predicament in handling the most troubled region in the country, others just make fun of him and openly disclose their dislike for the region.

The minister who was speaking exclusively to DAILY GUIDE on the security situation in the region said he is not a happy man as far conflicts are concerned which is his major headache as the head of security.

He observed that each time conflict breaks out in any part of the region, he suddenly becomes sad and restless for the fact that he is a northerner.

'The tag of being violent is worrying,' he remarked.

Other parts of the country, he indicated, litigate more than the north over chieftaincy and land, 'but residents are not always in a haste to take up arms', wondering why the situation in the north is different.

He advised people of the north to learn from these regions and follow due processes in either claiming land or ascending skins to reduce the number of conflict situations in the region threatening development.

'We must as brothers and sisters and good neighbours adopt civil ways in resolving our concerns rather that fighting,' the minister intimated.

Alhaji Muniru-Limuna was particularly worried that much of his time is spent in holding security meetings virtually every week unlike other regions where such meetings are held either monthly or quarterly.

This was in view of the fact the region has more flash points than any other region in the country, adding that out of the five spots where curfew had been imposed, four including Bimbilla, Bunkpurugu, Gushegu and Nakpanduri are in the Northern Region.

As a result, one insecurity situation from one corner of the region to the other is overstretched, posing a major challenge to the maintenance of peace in the area in the wake of the deplorable state of the road networks in the region as well as its vast landmarks.

Alhaji Limuna, however, indicated that he has no regrets in being the political head of a challenged region like the north, reaffirming his commitment in doing everything possible within his means to make an impact because he has been put in the position to help solve problems.

He envisaged a peaceful Northern Region where residents peacefully co-exist, laid down process of chieftaincy succession are followed and funerals of prominent chiefs are performed to pave the way for lasting peace in the region.

When all these are achieved and his time of exit comes, the minister said he would leave behind a legacy as one of the happiest ministers who truly made a mark in the lives and development of the area.

By Stephen Zoure, Tamale