Leadership Requires Patience--New Ya Naa Tells Royals Of Dagbon

The Overlord of Dagbon, Ya Naa Abukari Mahama II has made it emphatic that good leadership requires patience.

He, has accordingly, advised royals of the Dagbon Kingdom who are keenly aspiring to contest for positions to lead various towns and villages of the kingdom to exercise extreme patience.

He identified patience to be one of the critical leadership qualities required to position traditional authorities well in the Kingdom.

He said as royals, who are supposed to lead by example, they must eschew all forms of vindictiveness including Jealousy, dishonesty in order to succeed.

"It is the lack of patience that forces ambitious royals to adopt shortcuts as the easiest way to get to the top of traditional leadership," he said.

According to the Lion, tolerance and honesty are key virtues that must cloud the leadership qualities all royals in the Kingdom must possess. Should the following characteristics of leadership qualities be followed properly by all royals, he said it will keep the traditional area united, intact, peaceful and prosperous.

Under the circumstance, he charged the chiefs and people of Dagbon to accommodate each other, and adopt new workable measures that will guarantee peace and security in Dagbon, which is the biggest and most populous Kingdom in Northern Ghana.

Speaking in an interview exclusively with Gbewaa Show, a popular Northern television programme, monitored by Daniel Kaku, dedicated to the founder of the Dagbon Kingdom, Naa Gbewaa, the King outlined key measures he will adopt to deal decisively with issues of chieftaincy disputes in the Kingdom.

First, he said his primary responsibility is to identify issues causing divisions, disunity, and mistrust among royals and after that, they will be dealt with decisively.

"My word to chiefs of Dagbon is very simple. They must follow due process in selecting chiefs and sub-chiefs, abide by custom and tradition hitherto underpinning the supreme values of the Kingdom", he said.

He added "they must look at my track record, and adopt it as an example in their lives. If you bid for any chieftaincy position and you don't get it, it is not yet your time. Please do not set the town or community in turmoil. Let us maintain peace, unity and focus our leadership direction towards the development of Dagbon", remembered.

He recalled the number of times he attempted to head various towns and villages as a young Prince of the Kingdom but lost during the reign of Ya Naa Yakubu Andani II but at the right time, things have turned around in his favour.

He said he never caught the eye of the King until when he got to his prime age and had the opportunity for the first time to rule Kpunkponi, a village within the Kingdom.

Following that, he said he never looked back and never looked down upon others in the Kingdom especially those who were equally aspiring to lead and truly had their chances ahead of him.

He explained that Kpunkponi never became his last destination because he never rejected the opportunity offered but devoted himself to serve the Kingdom in any capacity.

"I grabbed it with all hands, knowing very well that there were better days ahead. Subsequently, I was elevated to Yoo, the Savelugu paramountcy, which is the Savelugu Municipality. Today, I am the overlord. This humble story must inspire all Royals who want to be on top to follow due process as you aspire to climb the leadership ladder in Dagbon", he emphasized.

He further indicated "we must kill all forms of divisions in the Kingdom, embrace peace and unity. I guarantee you, let us do these things and watch how Dagbon will be transformed in terms of development in the shortest possible time".

He appealed to scholars of the Kingdom to contribute towards the rebuilding of the Kingdom.

In doing so, he cautioned that they must take politics out of Dagbon and desist from meddling in the traditional processes of selecting chiefs.

He called for forgiveness among indigenes of the Kingdom, noting that they must support each other in sustaining lasting peace and tranquility to guarantee development.