Threat To Peace And Security In Dagbon.

The Honourable Regional Minister Regional Coordinating Council Tamale.

Dear Sir,

We wish to draw your attention as well as the Regional Security Council to certain developments in Dagbon which if not addressed with prompt action would lead to a situation beyond the control of the Regional Security Council.

The meeting which was convened at your instance last Tuesday 7th February to resolve the impasse arising out of the intended installation of the regent of Gusheigu. Honourable Regional Minister you advised the two contesting parties to go back to Gushegu and hold consultations and reach a compromise and resolve it amicably since they all from the same family. After they had resolved the issues they were then to send a delegation to Yendi to met the Kug Na acting President of Dagbon Traditional Council. The Kug Na would then refer them to Zohi Na who is Ya Na's elder responsible for the installation of the regent of Gusheigu. This action is in line with Dagbon custom. No regent of Gusheigu can be installed without prior approval of Kug Na and participation of Zohi Na.

The parties left your office with this understanding and went back to Gushegu. Honorable Minister, no sooner had the parties left your office and without any consultation with those opposing the installation unless proper Dagbon tradition and custom was adhered to. Those who are bent on destroying Dagbon custom simply because they have some powerful politicians in government behind them have caused announcements to be made on the local FM radio stations in Tamale about their intention of installation of a regent on Friday 17th February 2006.

We wish to draw the attention of the Regional Security Council that the organizers of the installation of the regent of Gushegu have a hidden agenda. The agenda is to use the so-called installation of a regent to once again destabilize Dagbon and to worsen the already fragile peace that we have. Honourable Regional Minster, before the murder of the Ya Na nad forty of our kinsmen in March 2002, they held a series of meetings at the residence of the late Alhaji Yahaya Iddi former Chairman of the NPP under the pretext of meeting to discuss the installation of the regent of this same Gushegu. The outcome of these diabolical meetings is the present situation the government of the NPP has been unable to resolve for the last four years. This time round we have seen their motive and we want to preempt the Regional Security Council to take a proactive and decisive action to nib in the bud the looming crisis before the situation gets out of hand. Honourable Minister, it is this same month of “Bugum”(Fire festival) that was employed by the detractors of Dagbon to cause mayhem that led to the gruesome murder of the Ya Na and forty of our kinsmen who perished with him. When the government of the NPP was informed that the Ya Na was attacked on March 25th 2002 the then Minnister of Interior who incidentally was the MP for Yendi came on air and told a blatant lie that all was calm. Today we have all seen the outcome of his lies and the motive behind it.

We are therefore calling on you to display the maturity and statesmanship that you displayed in handling the affairs of this region especially issues relating to ensuring peace in Dagbon to come out boldly and decisively to stop these renegades who have nothing to offer but to destroy what our forebears had bequeathed to us for a period of over eight hundred years.

Yours faithfully

Alhaji Abdulai Silimboma (Chairman)