An open letter to the royals of Nanung

Nyeb Ndam Bimbilla Nabihi,

I wish to greet you by first reminding you and all your weepy subjects that, ‘You can’t let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you and that change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for’. It’s needless if I should tell you the devastation we inflicted on ourselves for over a decade. We killed our own, destroyed properties belonging to our comrades and lost our pride as Nanumbas; a kingdom that enjoyed stability until the advent of this self-inflicted destruction.

I should not begrudge anybody. We have failed the generations yet unborn. We all grew up to meet a popular saying that ‘Royals always compete among themselves and regroup after the contest’. You failed us this time. You couldn’t find reason to unite yourselves for more than ten years. What went wrong?

What went wrong my people? There is no reason for you to see a fellow royal as an enemy, but you failed and even extended your failure to innocent people. You claim to have God at heart, yet you visited mayhem on your own people.

Tell me if you still see your God when you stand to pray. God forbids us from shedding blood. Hmm! I’m nobody to judge you. I’m only afraid of what the Bible and the Qur’an say about those who engage in illegalities, causing sufferings to their fellow men.

Must I blame you for all your failures? Sure! You failed to see yourselves as one people. You quickly invited enemies of your kingdom who disguised as your ‘body body’. I called them saboteurs.

You didn’t realize that the peace you enjoyed in your kingdom particularly, your succession to leadership was a source of bitterness to these saboteurs. They are rejoicing because your kingdom is in perpetual flames.

At long last, the Court has spoken. No great-grandson should rise to the Bimbilla paramountcy and very soon grandsons will become great-grandsons. So, the Bimbilla paramountcy will soon become the preserve of only sons of former Bimbilla Nanima.

Again, the issue of promotional basis to the Bimbilla paramountcy is no more necessary. Sons or grandsons of former Bimbilla chiefs do not have to waste time moving from village or skin to another with the hope of getting to the Bimbilla throne. It’s enough to become a Bimbilla Naa if you are a son or grandson even without skin or title.

These are clearly stated going forward. The land has had enough blood to consume and there is no need for further carnage. I’m sure the royals will look at these issues and save the land from torture. It shall be documented that greed has consumed everyone in Nanung. That the prosperous land your fathers banqueted has been destroyed by ecowarriors. Add to it that you gave out the land to your paymasters to satisfy your parochial interest.

Whether the rest of the people shall forgive you is yet to be determined. If I have my way, I will tell the Almighty God not to forgive you and all those who intentionally orchestrated this chaos.

I’m convinced that the evil men do leave with them and not far from you is the torments of your callous machinations against the innocent kingdom.

Dear Nabihi, everyone must bow in shame for not safeguarding the peace and security of Nanung. Yes, we’ve lost so much, but the time has come for you to bury your differences. No court system will ever bring finality to any disagreement regarding tradition and you must know this. We can go back to our former glory if only you work together as royals.

You must be bold to tell the ‘outsider’ to stay away from your in-house matters. Tell the ‘stranger’ to mind his own business. He has overstayed his welcome!

While you are restively killing and maiming your own, your sponsors (the murderers) are busy carting your ‘gold’ away. Your land has all the qualified personnel to work in the various departments. Unfortunately, this situation is worsening. The district assembly is flooded with visiting workers.

They only appear at work when the assembly common fund is released. The district hospital is no go area for people in Nanung. As for the training college, the least said about it the better.

So what are you fighting for? To show off or the usual do me I do you? What a pain! The saboteurs have infiltrated all corners of your land. You have become slaves in your own land.

Watch your moves and end your importation of violence to the Nanung Kingdom. Your land has produced great personalities yet development remains stagnant. Today, your land has her MP as the defence minister. The Northern Regional Minister and the Nanumba North MCE are your sons. Are you able to use these great men for positive development? Posterity shall judge us and God shall judge you the royals.

I’m on my knees begging for everyone in Nanung to forgive. Forgiveness does not mean weakness. Let us chart a new course for the sake of the generations yet to come. Our children are losing a lot. Our industrious men and women are wasting their talents, all because of your failure. Bear witness that I have called you to make peace.

Be reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters is not wealth or status or power or fame, but rather how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better. I remain a proud Nanuna no matter how other people wish negative for the kingdom. We have slept for long!