Editorial: Chieftaincy Madness!

When Ya Na Yakubu Andani II was killed in 2003 during a skirmish between two gates of succession in Yendi, some people immediately politicized it and blamed the government.

Indeed, some went as far as say it was some government officials who more or less carried out the regicide.

Dagbon became a household name for all the wrong reasons. The government set up the Wuako Commission, the UN sent a fact finding mission and later three eminent traditional rulers were co-opted to provide counsel leading to a final settlement of the decades old chieftaincy problems of the Dagbon Traditional Area.

Due to the high profile nature of the Dagbon crisis, it eclipsed the other chieftaincy disputes spread across the country. Every traditional area is grappling with chieftaincy disputes. Indeed, the current Ga Mantse's installation has been challenged in court.

The recent flare-up in the Anlo Traditional Area leading to several deaths and injuries during the attempted installation of an Awomefia simply adds to these footprints of insecurity being left by the chieftaincy institution all over the place.

So what is to be done?

That is the question.

It was Dagbon, now it is Anlo. A government can do so much, but the real solution lies with the traditional authorities themselves. There are traditional inheritance/succession and conflict resolution mechanisms which can be used in these circumstances, but are ignored because of parochial interests. And when the traditional authorities fail, who else can succeed?

Since the Dagbon flare up in 2002, we are still waiting for a settlement and from the look of things, it's going to be another long haul for the Anlos - and Ghana in general. When can we ever see an end to these chieftaincy disputes?!