Compromise on Wuaku Commission report -CDD

THE ASSOCIATE Executive Director of the Ghana-Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Dr. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has urged the two ruling gates in Dagbon, the Andanis and Abudus, to take pains to compromise with the recommendations in the government's White Paper report on the Wuaku Commission to ensure peace and tranquility.

According to him, further violence would not serve the interest of the nation and the individuals directly affected by the crisis as well.

Speaking to Chronicle in an interview on pragmatic means of ensuring peace in the Dagbon conflict, which resulted in the assassination of Ya-Na Andani II and many others, Dr. Agyeman-Duah said, even though the two factions expressed their dissatisfaction about the White Paper, it would do them no good if they fail to take the pain to compromise.

"I think that without compromising by going through the pain of accepting the reality, which is that we lost some body we cannot restore back to life, we will not help anybody. It will not help calling for the death of more people", he added.

Dr. Agyeman-Duah was quick to caution, however, that he was not advocating that those who were alleged to be involved in the conflict should be left free. "Those who were found culpable to have committed those atrocities should be made to face the full rigors of the law."

He appealed to the members of both factions who are severely aggrieved to endeavor to find some solace in the words of Allah and the counsel of God to seek perfect peace, urging them to allow the supreme interest of their own people to prevail. He noted that if the conflict continues, it would have an adverse effect on generations of the descendants of the area.

"The people of Dagbon have suffered enough, their properties have been destroyed enough for them to think much about the peace, security and the state of their people rather than agitate for further conflict", he reiterated.

Reacting to the displeasure at the exoneration of the two key government officials, Hon. Malik Alhassan Yakubu, Minister of the Interior at the time of the carnage and Major Mohammed Suleman, then National Security Advisor, Dr. Agyeman-Duah said, the statements against those government officials are all based on perceptions, impressions and speculations.

Holding no brief for anybody, Dr. Agyeman-Duah urged the two factions to produce concrete evidence that could lead to the prosecution of the key officials, adding that it would serve the nation a great deal if they should produce the evidence to help the nation."

Commenting on the issue of the conflict being politicized, the gentle-looking director said he was of the view that the current situation confronts not only Dagbon but the whole nation.

"Unfortunately in Ghana nothing goes without politicization but I am hoping that this issue of Dagbon is not politicized. This is an important issue that nobody should play politics with and at this point I am not sure that nobody is doing that", he added.

"If they have concrete evidence that those individuals are directly connected, they should forward it for prosecution", he charged.

"We want to live under the rule of law and unfortunately under the rule of law, there could be situations where there are strong perceptions that somebody might have committed a crime but without evidence we cannot prosecute. We are in the new era and we want to promote the rule of law. We are not under the military regime, where people are arrested unlawfully, detained and killed without any cause", he asserted.

He however urged the residents to whole-heartedly accept the White Paper report for peace to prevail.