We Salute Dagbon Youth

The unprecedented youth demonstration involving both sides of the chieftaincy divide-Abudu and Andani- in Yendi last Monday has sent a clear and unambiguous message to the major players in the imbroglio.

The Dagbon crisis has remained one of the longest and most intractable chieftaincy disputes in the country; its fallouts far-reaching and expensive.

The youth, and indeed many adults, have spoken and their word has resonated across the nation – the bottom-line of which is –we have had enough of it, we need peace now.

They did not mince words in the petition they presented to the District Chief Executive Officer for onward delivery to the appropriate quarters and peace-starved people of Dagbon and Ghanaians in general are supporting them in their street approach to the quest for peace in this troubled part of the country.

So much blood, funds and sacrifice have gone into the quest for peace in Dagbon yet so little has been achieved in terms of return to normalcy. The sandbags, now the façade of the reconstructed Gbewa Palace bespeaks of the fragile peace prevailing in Yendi and for that matter Dagbon – the town representing the spirit of this great kingdom.

We stand shoulder to shoulder with those who seek peace and not war because that is a prerequisite for development in every society. War saps the energy of the people and drains the kitty of the state.

There is belligerence fatigue in Dagbon and the youth have showed it loud and clear. To those who championed this noble cause, we ask that they continue the search for peace regardless of the landmines lurking in the corners.

This being the first time that such a move is being taken by the youth who have vowed to continue until peace is achieved and sustained, we ask that the Committee of Eminent Persons who have been tasked with managing the quest for peace to engage them. They are young and vibrant and ready to do whatever it takes to return normalcy to Dagbon.

It took them weeks, if not months, of arranging for the successful march which when it all ended peacefully attracted the commendation of non-Dagombas who could not believe what they were seeing in pictures. Yes, Dagbon is hungry for peace.

The negative effects of crisis in a given land in terms of lost development and the enhancement of poverty and other social challenges are enormous. With the flagship programmes of the NPP government about to commence across the country, this is not the time to allow such bloodcurdling encounters to stand in the way of the people. That is why Dagbon youth are angry and it is legitimate.

Posterity will judge whoever stands in the way between these youth and their ultimate goal of peace and tranquility in Dagbon.

There are killjoys who would attempt such a cause but no amount of such antics can stop the resolve of a people to change their lot. These noble youth of Dagbon, by their action, could do what others failed to do in altering the negative trend which had rendered peace dangerously elusive for decades. We wish them Godspeed.