Put Dagbon issue to rest – Prez Akufo-Addo appeals
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appealed to the Yagbonwura, opinion leaders and the people of Dagbon to work assiduously towards the installation a new Ya Na by the time the Damba Festival would be celebrated in December.
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“I am appealing to you to put your shoulders fully to the wheel and see what you can do to give us a formula. I would love to see that by the time of the Damba Festival this year, there is a new Ya Na. I am counting on you very much to help in that process,” the President said.
President Akufo-Addo made the appeal when the Overlord of the Gonjaland Traditional Area, the Yagbonwura Tuntumba Boresa I, who is also the President of the Northern Regional House of Chiefs, led a delegation to pay a courtesy call on him at the Flagstaff House on Friday.
The President said peace in Dagbon would not only affect Dagbon but the whole of Ghana and added that it was a matter of high national priority that Dagbon should be stabilised and be at peace with itself.
Put matter to rest
President Akufo-Addo said it was in the interest of all Ghanaians that the matter of Dagbon was put to rest and expressed concern that it had lingered for far too long and was retarding the progress of the area.
The President recounted that Dagbon had been going through problems for over 15 years and added that former President John Agyekum Kufuor was very wise in establishing the group of eminent traditional rulers to try and find a solution to the problem.
The group, he said, made intermittent progress only for those achievements to be rolled back. He noted, however, that now the possibilities for the success of permanently bringing peace and stability to the area were very strong.
The President gave an assurance that whatever formula the eminent traditional leaders agreed on as the way forward and as the roadmap for resolving the crisis in Dagbon, it would have his full support and that of his government.
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“We are prepared to support fully any formula that you will devise and think would bring a lasting resolution of the problem,” he assured.
Fulfilling promises
Touching on other issues, the President said there was much work ahead in achieving the promises that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) made to the people of Ghana.
He said the government had systematically began to try and fulfil each one of those promises because they were not made just to get votes.
President Akufo-Addo for instance noted that the free Senior High School (SHS) policy continued to be controversial because some people were bent on making politics out of it.
The President was optimistic that contrary to pronouncements that it could not be done, the policy would be rolled out by Monday.
President Akufo-Addo said his responsibility was to ensure that the policies and programmes promised would work so that people would appreciate that his insistence on becoming a leader of the nation was for real purposes.
“I am determined to work and I need your support and the support of the people to ensure that this programme of radical social and economic transformation and development of Ghana becomes a reality in our time,” President Nana Akufo-Addo appealed.
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Yagbonwura
Speaking through the Lepowura, Alhaji M.N.D. Jawula, the Yagbonwura congratulated the President on his victory in the last election and assured him of his support.
He said the people of his area had followed with keen interest the policies and programmes of the government and were hopeful that they would also benefit from them.
The Yagbonwura said Gonjaland was the only area in the north that had no college of education, and that was adversely affecting basic education.
He pleaded that two colleges of education should be provided in the area.
The Overlord of Gonjaland also appealed to President Akufo-Addo to create a region for Gonjaland, out of the Northern Region.
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He said Gonjaland was bigger than eight out of the 10 regions of the country and had arable lands for grains and tubers.
The Yagbonwura said he was prepared to partner with the government to bring lasting peace to Dagbon and expressed gratitude to the President for appointing people from the area into his government.