AT THE END OF A MEETING TO MARK THE SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MURDER OF THE OVERLORD OF DAGBON, YA-NA YAKUBU II AND OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY
Date: 30th March, 2008
.Last Thursday marked the sixth anniversary of the murder of the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Yakubu II and other members of our family in bizarre circumstances at the Gbewaa Palace in Yendi. The murder was a culmination of three days of sustained attack on the palace while the government and its agents in the national security refused to act. Why the government and its agents showed that attitude is difficult to explain.
At today’s grand meeting of the family to commemorate the 6th anniversary of this horrible event, members of the family made a frank overview of the event and what has been done by officialdom to deal with the traditional and criminal matters associated with it.
The generality of the family are unanimous in their disappointment in the way the associated criminal and traditional issues have been handled by government and other persons who have been tasked to help resolve the crisis.
We are surprised that not a single person has been held by government for being responsible for this horrendous crime in spite of the findings and recommendations made by the Justice I.N.K. Wuaku Commission. Our disappointments rests on two important factors.
The first is the fact that the government, on 28th March 2002 placed an award of ten million cedis for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators of the murder. Yet, when the Wuaku Commission identified some members of the Abudu family as being associated with the act, the government refused to take action and the culprits are roaming in freedom.
The second factor for our disappointment is that his Excellency, President J.A. Kufuor, despite the numerous promises to us and whole of Ghana to ensure the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators has so far failed to live up to his promise.
Whiles the family sincerely appreciates the effort the Otumfuo Mediation Committee has put into resolving the traditional component of the crisis, we are appalled at the temporary aberrations the Committee has proposed in the Roadmap to Peace to accommodate the greed and wickedness of the Abudu family While neglecting to propose customary sanctions against the criminal family.
Chieftaincy is an embodiment of our customs and traditions. These customs and traditions should not be at the behest of any individual member or group in any traditional area. It is against this background that we implore all stakeholders in the management of the Dagbon crisis to eschew expediency and allow our true customs and traditions to influence all proposals or decisions.
In the light of these concerns and our desire to ensure a speedy and just resolution of the crisis that confront Dagbon and Ghana , we make the following requests:-
1. His Excellency, President J.A. Kufuor should within the time left for him to handover, fulfill his promise to find and ensure the prosecution of the perpetrators of the murder of Y-Na Yakubu II and the other members of our family, to pave the way for true peace in Dagbon. 2. The Otumfuo Mediation Committee should abandon its proposal to allow the funeral rites of the former Ya-Na Mahamadu Abdulai to be performed in the Old Gbewaa Palace, as that proposal has no customary precedent in the history of Dagbon chieftaincy. 3. Government should not lend support to the proposal to allow members of the Abudu family to occupy the Old Gbewaa Palace, because such occupation would be deemed a declaration of war on us by the Abudu family. 4. The present arrangements that restrains the legitimate Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya Na Abdulai Yakubu from exercising his lawful authority according to Dagbon custom, be reviewed because such an arrangement has no customary or legal basis and is therefore illegal. 5. The leadership of political parties should restrain their members from making promises and utterances that encourage individuals and groups in Dagbon to pursue uncustomary and inordinate interests that can worsen the security situation in Dagbon.
We as a family are peace loving We will therefore continue to co-operate with all stakeholders to restore peace and normalcy to Dagbon. We will however not lend support to any process that seeks to perpetrate injustice or pervert our customs to accommodate greed and wickedness.
We take this opportunity to ask our cousins in the Abudu family to abandon their present agenda in which they seek to fulfill their uncustomary dreams even at the peril of Dagbon chieftaincy. They should moderate their actions and engage in a sincere introspection by which, we believe, they will join us to restore the pride of Dagbon and Dagbamba.
We are appalled by the resolve of some members of the Abudu family to criticize every act of members of the Andani family no matter how unreasonable such criticism may sound. . The recent letter from the Mion-Lana to the Gundo-Naa to the effect that she (the Gundo-Naa) had no right to alienate land under the terms of the road map to peace in Dagbon is a case in point. The Mion-Lana should have known that what is contained in the road map refers to only the Regent of Dagbon and no other paramount chief like the Gundo-Naa.
It is our prayer that steps would be taken by every stakeholder in the realization of genuine and lasting peace in Dagbon to ensure that truth and love for justice take a centre stage in their thought and pronouncements.
LONG LIVE DAGBON
LONG LIVE GHANA
FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE ANDANI ROYAL FAMILY.
……………………….. 1. GUNDO-NAA
……………………….. 2. WORUBOG-LANA ABDULAI
…………………………. 3. KPAN-NA M.B. BAWA
……………………….. 4. MMA SHETU SHILNG
…………………………. 5. ANDANI MAHAMA
