A TALE OF TWO REGENTS IN DAGBON AS GOVERNMENT SITS ON THE FENCE

In retrospecting the circumstances which compelled me to write this piece of article, one can only conclude that the present day NDC government is sitting on a fence in matters relating to the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute. Now I know most people who jump blindly to defend the present day government would wonder 'where from this piece of shit?' To such people I say, in every empty brain there is an iota of wisdom.

Let me bring my readers up to speed. On the 28th of March, 2002, sometime in the J.A Kuffuor era, a heavy cloud descended on the kingdom of Dagbon situated in Northern region. What came to be known as the 'Yendi Skin crisis' by the media claimed the life of the revered Ya-naa Yakubu Andani II. The events which unfolded after this were a lot of cacophonous sounds from social commentators, traditional authorities and politicians including the NDC as that time. Whilst the ruling NPP at that time were calling for a step by step approach to handling this crisis and subsequently the arrest of the murderers, the NDC saw this as a perfect way of scoring cheap political points. In fact, it is said that a drowning man would cling to straw for survival. As such the aggrieved Andani who hitherto were occupants of the skin (there is rotational system of ascending to the throne in Dagbon between two gates- Abudu and Andani), clung to the lies which were peddled by the then opposition NDC. This deadly propaganda was done in the form of pointing fingers at the NPP government for the murder of the Yaa-naa. All this in the name of scoring cheap political points. Those of us who were witness to this knew that the deadly propaganda of the NDC would come haunting them someday.

Further down the lane in 2008, which was an election year, the then candidate Mills with other NDC cronies seeking political power quickly jumped the gun by putting the arrest of the said murderers of the late Yaa-naa in their manifesto. Mention can be made of how they promised to solve the age-long Dagbon chieftaincy dispute with their imaginable magic wand. By so doing, they belittled the efforts of the NPP in solving the matter. It was not surprising that a large number of people were cajoled into believing this fictitious promise. Neither was it a shock when a chieftaincy affair metamorphosed into an NDC/NPP affair.: the NDC for Andani and the NPP oppositely for the Abudus. We all could hear statements like 'NDC for peace, NDC for unity in Dagbon 'and so forth. At the end of the day they got what they wanted and we did not get what we yearned for: justice for the Yaa-naa and a total unification of the Dagbon kingdom. Instead, what we saw was a lackadaisical attitude towards the resolution of the Yendi skin crisis. The NDC government in their confusion acted like the priest in a trance who chooses the unlucky child for sacrifice to the gods, suddenly went on an arrest spree. Arresting suspects and arraigning them for trial without due evidence. Aside from this beating them, the government remained cold on the recommendation of the committee of eminent chiefs which spelt out ways of addressing the chieftaincy dispute.

Now Dagbon is more divided than ever. The NDC government looks on as two regents claim supremacy in Dagbon. Anyone who brings up the issue of the arrest of the murderers of the late Yaa-na is eyed with disdain by the same government which made that promise. Those members of parliament who have ridden on the back of the Yaa-naa's murder to score political points no longer want to hear of it. It is no wonder that the very foundation of traditional authority in Dagbon is in disarray. Sad enough, the government keep on urging for peace without making any effort to put it in place. In fact, since 2008 to date, no single effort has been made by the government to bring the two gates together. So I ask these simple questions: can there really be peace without justice? Can you tactically solve a problem without first looking at its cause?

All these things make the NDC government a bitter pill in the mouth of those who voted them for the unity they promised to bring to Dagbon. I would be back with the second part of this article as this problem continuously affects the over three million people in Dagbon who are also citizens of Ghana.

Inusah Zanjina
Secretary, Dagbon Bilchinsi Youth Association
The writer is an upcoming novelist. Please channel all corrections and ideas through izanjina@gmail.com

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