State of Emergency Declared After King Killed in Clashes

Ya-Na Yakubu Andani, king of the Dagbon has been killed in factional fighting in Yendi, the traditional capital of the Dagombas. A number of people are also reported killed in the fighting, which erupted last Monday between the Andani and Abudu chieftaincy gates to Ya-Na Skin.

By mid morning yesterday, rumours were filtering in that the king had died when his palace was attacked by a mob. Sporadic gunshots had been heard during the whole of Tuesday despite the presence of armed soldiers and police in the Yendi Township and in spite of a dusk to dawn curfew. The Northern Regional Security Committee deployed armed soldiers and police to the area and banned the celebration of this year's annual Bugum (Fire) Festival at Yendi that was expected to take place on Monday night when security reports revealed the possibility of disturbances. It is yet to be determined what actually caused the flare up but according to sources, tension had been mounting between the two gates since last January over the celebration of the Muslim Eid ul-Adha festival. The Andani Gate that is currently occupying the Dagbon Skin was said not to have been happy when the rival Abudu Gate celebrated the festival in the traditional way at the house of its regent.

Since then, there had been rumours of an imminent attack and counter-attack by the rival chieftaincy gates, which boiled over into an exchange of gunfire on Monday morning.

At the time of going to press, reports reaching The Accra Daily Mail talked of a call to arms by the different factions in Dagbon - a very volatile situation for the government.

The Ya Na's assassination now further complicates the Yendi skin affair and would polarise Dagbon more. This is the first time in Dagbon history when a Ya Na has died at the hands of his own people.

President Kufuor was said to have received the news of the death with great shock and sadness and spent most of yesterday with his advisors discussing the security implications and political fallout.

The President has put the Northern Region on a state of emergency and the security agencies have extended the dusk to dawn curfew to cover the entire region. The government has also assured the nation that those found to have been responsible for the tragedy, would face the full rigours of the law.

Meanwhile, Nana Amoatia Ofori Panin, the Okyenhene was the first traditional ruler to express his disgust at the tragic events of Yendi. In a statement issued from his Secretariat last night, he called on "all Ghanaians to treat this incident as the national tragedy that it is."

The statement also asked the government to intensify the deployment of security personnel to maintain law and order.

The Okyenhene's statement concludes by calling on all his colleague traditional rulers to join him in condemning the heinous crime.

Below is The Accra Daily mail Editorial of 26 March 2002 on the same subject, which probably was being printed when the assassination was taking place.

WILL DAGBON SIT UP?

Reports of disturbances in the Dagbon traditional capital, Yendi, on Monday, were very disturbing indeed.

Dagbon is one of the most important links in the Mole-Dagbani Empire, which extends from Northern Ghana all the way to Burkina Faso.

It occupies very large tracts of the Northern Region and holds great potential for food production. Indeed, traditionally, the Dagombas have been associated with rice, maize, millet and yam farming.

They are also reputed for trading, travelling all over the country to trade in the food crops they produce.

Since Independence, Dagbon has produced some very well educated individuals for Ghana's labour market, and indeed, even the Diaspora. It is no wonder that the Vice President of the republic in these first years of the 21st century is a product of Dagbon. But one thing has eluded Dagbon, even with so much potential, and that is development.

Towns and villages are pathetic and impoverished. There are no good schools, no good health facilities, no good roads, no pipe borne water, etc. In fact Dagbon is technically a distressed area! But do the people of Dagbon, educated and uneducated alike, think about these problems? The answer seems to be a resounding NO! They are more interested in the partisanship of Abuduyilli or Andanyilli; that is, the two royal gates of ascent to the Dagbon skin! Unlike kings in the Akan areas of Ghana who are enstooled, the Dagomba kings are enskinned.

For decades now, there have been disputes over the Yendi skin between the two royal gates. It was thought that after the internecine fights of the seventies and with the stable incumbency of Na Yakubu Andani, Dagombas had allowed by-gones to be by-gones, since most of them had come to the realisation that without peace and unity, their traditional area could not develop. But now, all of a sudden, there's been this flare-up. It is as stupid as it is crazy. The Dagomba intelligentsia, some of whom are behind this madness, must learn from what the Ashantis, Akyems and some other forward-looking traditional areas are doing to bring progress to their people through their kings. Fighting is not the answer. The way to show loyalty is through development, so if they must be partisan, let it be seen in who has brought what development to Dagbon. For starters, who is willing to give the Ya Na's Palace a face-lift?

We believe there is the need for an enquiry into this recent flare up and those responsible for it must be exposed and sanctioned according to the laws of the land.