The minority leader, Alban Bagbin who led a Parliamentary delegation to the Dagbon Traditional area has said unequivocally that, peace has not returned to the troubled area yet.
He said the people are just being patient and tolerant, and looking to government to do something really fast to resolve the conflict.
Hon. Bagbin told Parliament that, the people are ready to give peace a chance and urged government to take advantage of that, to engage them in peaceful resolution of the conflict.
He was speaking to the motion moved by the Minister for Defence and Acting Minister for the Interior; Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor asking the House to extend the State of Emergency in the area for a further period of a month ? November 16 to December 15.
All the 122 members present voted in favour of the resolution This is the seventh time that Parliament has approved the extension of the state of emergency since its proclamation on March 27, following the clash between the Andani and Abudu Royal families of the Dagbon Traditional Area.
Dr. Addo-Kufuor said the facts and circumstances giving rise to the declaration of the State of Emergency still persist in the area.
He said mistrust and suspicion between both Andani and Abudu gates persist and that they are suspected to be to be heavily armed, hence the need for security vigilance.
He said government was studying the Wuaku Commission's report for appropriate action to be taken. "Whilst waiting for government to issue a white paper on the report, it is important to maintain the State of Emergency to offer security agencies the flexibility to retain the initiative and to be able to deal effectively with any disturbances of peace."
The curfew in the area has been amended from 10pm-4am to 10-3am. "This was to allow believers (Muslims) enough time to prepare for their early morning prayers at 4am. This relaxation of the curfew period is for the duration of the Ramadan only."
He said the security personnel have stepped up their mobile patrols to ensure that peace is not disturbed during the period.
"In the event of the release of the government white paper on the Wuaku Commission report, there would be the need for reinforcement on the strength of the security personnel in the area..."
He said government is completely neutral in this conflict and would do everything within its powers to study and implement recommendations in the Wuaku Commission's Report and the mediation efforts of other personalities. Dr Addo-Kufuor said, "it is important that leaders of the people of Dagbon do not bequeath a legacy of hatred to the present and future generations."
He said government is ready to support them in the reconciliation effort, development and peace.
Meanwhile, a group calling itself, the Dagbon Youth for Peace (DAYOP), an organization with members from both the Abudu and Andani Gates in Dagbon, has called for unity among Dagombas, especially between the "brotherly" groups of the two Andani and Abudu gates. "We have chosen this period of Ramadan to make this appeal to our brothers who are beating the drums of war since it is not in their interest as Abudus or Andanis or in their collective interest as Dagombas. Neither is it in our national interest as Ghanaians," Mr. Ibrahim Jabir Suhuyini, the Andani representative of the organization, said at a press conference in Accra.
He urged Dagombas, especially those of Islamic faith, to use the holy month of Ramadan to preach and practice the need for healing, peace and unity in Dagbon in particular and Ghana as a whole.
Mr. Suhuyini said the people of Dagbon wanted to live in peace adding, "We are from the same stock and want to stay as such, in spite of the unfortunate tragedy in Yendi in March which led to the death of Ya-Na and many others."
Mr. Alidu Bawa of the Abudu Gate said DAYOP had faith in the government's ability to implement the recommendations made by the Wuaku Commission, which was tasked to investigate the conflict. "Justice is what we need in Dagbon, Ghana and the world at large if we are to live as brothers and sisters," he said.
Mr. Bawa said coming from a region in need of schools, good drinking water, hospitals and several other modern amenities, the opposing factions had to realize that money being spent on peacekeeping in the region which runs into billions of cedis, could have been used in development projects. "It is unfortunate that while we in the Northern Region continue to complain about under-development, we, especially those in the south are ourselves frustrating development in our region by inciting violence and conflict."
He said DAYOP would ensure that nobody used the tragedy of March 27 in Yendi to plunge Dagbon into further backwardness.
Mr. Karim Naatogmah, Spokesperson of the DAYOP, described as unfortunate, attempts by some people to politicize the crisis. He said although the crisis is unfortunate the Andani and Abudu Gates were not enemies.
Mr. Naatogmah said the crisis did not only concern Yendi but could spread to other parts of the country because Dagombas live all over the country. He therefore, urged the public not to perceive the situation as only involving Yendi and urged members of the public to desist from making statements which could inflame passions in the region.
The organization, which is based in Dagbon and was formed about nine years ago, was re-activated recently to foster peace between the Andani and Abudu Gates of the Dagbon stool.
A chieftaincy dispute between the Andani and Abudu Gates led to violent clashes, which ended in the death of the Ya Na Yakubu Andani II and about 40 others last March.
