The Right Reverend Emmanuel Arongo, Anglican Bishop of the Tamale Diocese, on Thursday said only truth, honesty and accurate facts on chieftaincy matters could bring peace to the three Northern Regions. Bishop Arongo noted that chieftaincy in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions was shrouded in falsehood making the area a "ticking time bomb."
He told a special synod of the diocese on the adoption of a drafted constitution of the Anglican Church in Ghana towards the attainment of provincial status by October 23, next year that most people found it difficult to speak the truth about the chieftaincy institution, adding, "a pint of it (truth), could resolve serious issues such as the one that happened in the Dagbon Traditional Area."
He said violent chieftaincy disputes would persist in the three Northern Regions inasmuch as perpetrators of these acts continue to peddle lies to achieve their aim. Bishop Arongo prayed for wisdom for members of the three-member committee, established by President John Agyekum Kufuor to mediate in the Dagbon dispute and advised them to insist on the truth in order to come up with a positive and lasting solution.
He noted, "we leave just the opposite life of Christ, because one of the gifts of life is truthfulness, which we hate, yet without it, there would always be chaos." Synod members from more than six parishes of the diocese, clergy of the Church and diocesan officials attended the event.
