Gonjas and Tampulmas Clash:The Security slept on their job in responding to early warning signals-Wasipe Traditional Council

The Wasipe Traditional Council has in the wake of the recent clashes between the Gonjas and Tampulmas in the North Gonja District of Northern Ghana blamed the security for failing to act in averting the situation.

According to the council,the situation could have been totally averted from escalating if the security was timely in responding to early warning signals.They blame the security for failing to deal decisively with the perpetrators and brains behind the kidnap of the emissaries of the Wasipewura sent to collect royalties across the traditional area.

In a statement signed by Jantonwura and copied to Ghanaweb's Northern Regional Correspondent,the council said a country of laws such as Ghana should not wait to witness unfortunate results of disregard for the law before action is taken.

"The Wasipe traditional council is gravely shocked by the total breakdown of security allowing for miscreants to formant and visit mayhem on innocent law abiding citizens.The escalation of this incident could have been totally averted if the security was timeous in responding to the early warning signals and dealing decisively with the perpetrators of the said kidnap".The statement said.

According to the statement,Gonjas and Tampulmas in North Gonja District were not adversaries and have had mutual respect for each other and coexisted peacefully through intermarriages.Accordingly,Tampulmas have never had a paramountcy nor paramount chief.The Wasipewura is the paramount chief of Wasipe Traditional Area which includes the Tampulma settled communities.All setters adopting the Wasipe land for economic benefit pay royalties to Wasipewura.

The council revealed that one "Self-styled" Kadichara Mahamadu is the hidden face behind all the troubles being fomented in Daboya.And that,Kedichari Mahamadu succeeded his late father Musah Kadichara who was carrying himself as the paramount chief of the Tampulmas.

Mahamadu has succeeded in recruiting hatched men such as Mr.Braimah,Musah Bugri and Latif Muniru a two time parliamentary candidate for Daboya/Mankarigu on the ticket of the NPP for his trouble making endeavors.

Kadichara Mahamadu is believed scheming to add the lands Tampulmas have settled on in Daboya to Mamprugu land so they can make a strong case for an administrative region on their own.He is reported to have been included in Nayiri's delegation that met the commission of enquiry on the creation of new regions.

The council however wondered why the Regional Security Council has not taken any action on this man even though,several complaints have been made to it(RCC) about his actions.

The council has called on the security agencies to act as a matter of urgency to apprehend the perpetrators of the disturbance and to forestall a recurrence.It has also cautioned the media to do due diligence in conveying the facts of the incidence to avoid misinforming the general public.

Read the full statement below:
PRESS RELEASE BY THE WASIPE TRADITIONAL COUNCIL ON THE UNINFORMED AND MISLEADING MEDIA REPORTAGE ON THE RECENT DISTURBANCES IN SOME PARTS OF THE TRADITIONAL AREA.

In the wake of the unfortunate disturbances of the 13th and 14th of January 2018 in which the kidnapping of emissaries of the Wasipewura sent on a legitimate routine of collecting royalties across the traditional area turned nasty, the Wasipe traditional is deeply appalled by the misleading reportage carried on air and online. This must be clearly borne out of ignorance of some of the reporters as far as these worrying developments are concerned and we entreat more diligence and professionalism before conveying matters such as this to the listening public.

The undisputable fact as evidenced by history and the present is, that the Gonjas and Tampulmas in the North Gonja District are not adversaries in any way and in fact have enjoyed a very cordial and a seamless relationship of coexistence for over four decades now. A relationship that is anchored on mutual respect and has yielded and continue to yield mutually beneficial outcomes for the Gonjas and the Tampulmas in the Wasipe traditional area. Such reports in sections of the media to the effect that Gonjas disrespect and undermine the Tampulmas cannot be further from the truth. The fact of the countless intermarriages between Tampulmas and Gonjas even from royal families clearly debunks the perception of disrespect as intermarriages between two ethnic groups cannot thrive on the bedrock of disrespect and undermining of either of the ethnic groups. In fact, until the Tampulma populated communities got their own schools, they were mostly housed in the Wasipewuras palace whiles they schooled in the only middle school in Daboya.

Now, some background to the current happenings will suffice. Some few years ago, a certain imposter of a man called Musah from a village known as Solugu came out from nowhere and paraded himself as the paramount chief of the Tampulmas in the Gonja traditional area with wanton disregard for due process in such customary matters. He conferred on himself the title of “Kadichara” of Tampulmas. The original Kadichara of the Tampulmas was a leading warrior of the Tampulma people and was never a chief. In fact, historically, the Tampulmas have never neither had a paramountcy nor a paramount chief. The Wasipewura is the paramount chief of the Wasipe traditional area which includes the Tampulma settled communities. The custom and tradition over the time spanning when the Tampulmas were conquered and annexed is that, the Wasipewura enskins chiefs who are the traditional heads in all the communities under the Wasipe paramountcy. In line with customary administrative wisdom, the Wasipewura also installs selected Tampulmas to be their chiefs in these Tampulma settled communities for the sake of effective coordination between the Tampulmas and the Gonja traditional authority for the sake of peace and development of the area. This practice has been the case for centuries and has received unanimous support and cooperation from both the Gonja people and the Tampulma people.

It is very crucial to note that, a great majority of the Tampulmas flatly disagreed with the self-imposed Kadichara and vehemently questioned the legitimacy of Musah in carrying himself as the paramount chief of the Tampulmas. A few years down the line after the demise of Musah, his son called Mahamadu assumed the dubious and illegitimate position of his father. Several complains were made to the regional security council about his dubious posturing but unfortunately, no serious action was taken or seen to have been taken in this regard. The best that was done was to give Mahamadu some verbal warning and let go. This lack of action by the Regional Security Council has since emboldened him to devise strategies based on deceptive ethnic centred sentiments to expand the territories of his self- imposition to other areas of the Wasipe traditional area. So, out of over twenty communities, Mahamadu clandestinely managed to win some ignorant elements in the Dissah, Nabengu and Mankarigu communities to follow him.

This man Mahamadu is based in Tamale and has succeeded in recruiting an army of Tampulmas also domiciled in Tamale as his hatchet men who spearhead his nefarious trouble making endeavours in the Wasipe traditional area. These hatchet men include one Mr. Braimah, Musah Bugri, Latif Muniru also known as Naros and the two times parliamentary candidate of the NPP in the Daboya/Mankarigu constituency who interestingly served as the secretary to Mahamadu prior to becoming the parliamentary candidate of the NPP. We wish to on this note call on the National Security to pick up these individuals mentioned above for interrogation and subsequent action.

The most recent but outrageous claim in the schemes of Mahamadu and his operatives is laying claim to the land they are settled on and purporting to be adding this land to that of the Mamprugu land for the purposes of advancing a case for same as they seek an administrative region of their own. Quiet unfortunately, when the Mamprusis presented their petition to be considered for a new region, this same Mahamadu was paraded as the paramount chief of the Tampulma traditional area as part of the areas to fall under their proposed new region. He was subsequently included in the Nayiri’s delegation to meet the commission of enquiry on the creation of new regions. After having been part of the Mamprugu delegation to the commission of enquiry on creation of new regions, Mahamadu met with his supporters at a village called Solugu and assured them that they will soon be part of the Manprugu people and therefore should not have anything to do with Gonjas. He also charged them to resist any attempt by the Wasipewura to collect royalties of any kind from them. This is a rendition that is undisputed and verifiable. The unavoidable question one comes to is whether it is the Mamprusis who are pushing Mahamadu to do all these in a bid to advance their agenda of a new region. Whiles at that, the media would do the peace of the area and Ghana at large a lot of good if they can enquire from Mahamadu the imposter to answer to the question of whether he subjected himself to the procedures and requirements prescribed by the relevant chieftaincy laws of Ghana before becoming the supposed paramount chief he falsely claims to be.

The immediate result of Mahamadu”s incessant incitement was that, his supporters in a community called Mankarigu started harassing the people who profess allegiance or support the Wasipe traditional authority as the legitimate governors of the area. His supporters threatened to burn down the houses and shops of the pro Gonja people in the community. This threats and harassment raised tensions in the area for the past two weeks.

As I stated earlier, the most immediate spark to the recent disturbances was lighted when Wasipewura as its within his rights to so do as the overlord of the Wasipe traditional area, detailed a six man team of emissaries to go round the traditional area to collect royalties from Fulani herdsmen. The customary practice is that all settlers adopting the Wasipe land to beneficial economic usage pay royalties to the Wasipewura. Indeed, the Tampulmas regularly paid these royalties to the Wasipewura in time past until the lapse of time and closely knitted relationship developed between the two and brought about the Wasipewura giving a waiver to the Tampulmas in this regard. Before the Wasipewuras emissaries got to Mankarigu on the fateful day, the self-styled kadichara Mahamadu had set up a team of about ten heavily armed men to wait in ambush for the Wasipewuras emissaries. When Wasipewuras emissaries got to Mankarigu, they proceeded to Sekpege, the next community to plan towards the next day’s activity of meeting with the Fulanis for the royalties. Whiles in a house, Wasipewuras emissaries got surrounded by the armed men who shot warning shots and threatened to slaughter the emissaries of the Wasipewura on the royalty collection mission like fowls. Upon hearing the news, the Wasipewura immediately contacted the DCE to further inform the police to go and rescue his men. He as well sent another person to inform the police on the incident. The police were slow in responding and even upon getting to the Sekpege, all their attempts to rescue the kidnapped men proved futile. It had to take the intervention of the military for the men held hostage to be rescued.

The Wasipe traditional council is gravely shocked by the total breakdown of security allowing for miscreants to foment trouble and visit mayhem on innocent law abiding citizens. The escalation of this incident could have been totally averted if the security was timeous in responding appropriately to the early signals and decisively dealing with the perpetrators of the said kidnap. A country of laws cannot wait to witness nasty results of disregard for the law and customs before it acts. That is precisely why we urge the security agencies to take a very serious view of the recent happenings and put in the right measures to not just apprehend the imposters who foment these disturbances but also forestall a recurrence of same. The media must also do due diligence and appropriately convey the facts of incidents in their reportage to avoid a distortion and misinformation of the general public.

In conclusion, the Wasipewura together with the Wasipe traditional council hereby serves the sternest notice that Mahamadu should henceforth in his own interest, desist from stepping foot anywhere around Wasipe. And any hints of him indulging in any nefarious machinations that threaten the peace, security and development of Wasipe will be met with the fullest force ever.

Thank you.
Signed.
Jantonwura Awusi
Source:Ananpansah,B Abraham/ModernGhana.com/Northern Region