Dagbon youth urged to go for peace

Accra, April 3, GNA - Mr Hardi Adams, Executive Director of the Northern Youth Peace and Development Association (NYUPED), a nongovernmental organisation (NGO), on Monday appealed to youth of the Dagbon Traditional Area to bury their differences and work for the peace and stability of the area.

He said the youth of Dagbon should not be left out in all deliberations geared towards bringing peace to Dagbon since they formed the majority of the population in the area.

Mr Adams was speaking at a press conference in Accra in the wake of tomorrow's bye-election at the Tamale Central Constituency and the burial of the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II scheduled for April 10, 2006.

He said the death of the Overlord of Dagbon had caused a lot of havoc to the Northern Region and the country as a whole adding that all the monies and logistics that had been expended to restore peace in the area could have been used to provide basic amenities such as schools, hospitals and potable water to various communities in the Region. He further appealed to the chiefs, opinion leaders and the youth of both the Abudu and Andani Gates to come together and smoke the peace-pipe for the sake of the vulnerable in the society, especially women and children as well as general development of the Region. "Both gates Abudu and Andani might have their grievances but peace in Dagbon should be paramount in all their deliberations" he said. He urged the youth to abide by the agreement reached between the three eminent chiefs and the leaders of Abudu and Andani gates. Mr Adams, whose NGO is engaged in Health Education and Peace building in the Northern Region, also called on the youth to work towards the unity of the two gates through dialogue, adding that they must organise seminars, lectures, drama, friendly games and entertainment to educate the people on the need for peaceful co-existence.

He urged all political parties running for the Tamale Central bye-election to desist from using abusive language and to respect divergent views as well as refrain from discussing personalities and chieftaincy in order to avoid confrontations. He appealed to the Government, NGOs and philanthropists to set economic ventures and vocational training centres to provide the youth with employable skills and to prevent them from migrating to the South to engage in "Kayayoo" (porters) business as well as prostitution and armed robbery.