The Voice of Dagbon from Ireland

By Zenabu Abukari ,Ireland

All citizens of Dagbon, your brothers, sisters and children around the world bear and share the pains you are continually experiencing and the vacuum created by the name of politics which has left our beloved and once admired Chieftaincy stool naked.

We have been stripped of the dignity of our place of Chiefdom that our forefathers from generation to generation established and conserved by paying the invaluable price through their blood which some politicians have cunningly orchestrated aided by the ignorance of some of our people.

Some politicians had surfaced and tried to no avail to restore the dignity and the glory of the area and left us with unbearable pains.

Yes, we all know that Ashantehene has the mandate to oversee the affairs of Dagbon Kingdom but for how long can we wait for Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani's body to be laid to rest after the brutal murder for over a decade and his brother Yaa Naa Muhammed Abudu who lost his life out of the self- centredness and self egoism of some individual politicians. They have thwarted the funeral to be held for about twenty years. Indeed this is unthinkable in a civilised society and needs immediate resolution.

If our forefathers could lay their lives for us and were able to establish a system acceptable to all and used it harmoniously to govern effectively, efficiently and peacefully even in the olden days why can’t we practice same even better in this 21st century? Why are we slaying one another of the same brotherhood and have left our people naked without any anchor of protection? Why are we not having any representation in the house of chiefs?

We are in the 21st centaury and the world has become a small village where people can no longer live in isolation. In this contemporary environment the ideas and the mentality of our forefathers with our fathers eventually paying with their blood should not be encouraged to permeate our co- existence. I should think that they can only serve as a guide as we quest to shaping our future and future generation yet to come. Failure to do so, in my profound opinion could ruin the future not only for our generation but our children, grandchildren and at the end Dagombas are going to be settlers.

The sovereignty of Dagbon can be restored if we realise that we are being manipulated by people who are only interested in gaining power but not for the wellbeing of Dagbon and her people.

All we have to know is that blood is ticker than water. Yes we have been put through an unbearable pain which only GOD who has the POWER and AUTHORITY can heal which is why God has enthroned our own.

Undoubtedly, we can make it; we can build Dagbon once again by our ownselves. The current phase of Dagbon can be changed. As you can bear with me, the world is like a stream of river moving along its bounds, and if you want to join the masses, you need to move along with it.

What do I mean, when a stream of water is moving and you decide to stay in the pound of water , there is likelihood that you will eventually be infested with all forms of germs and diseases that will ultimately lead to destruction of lives.

My people and people of GOD we can live peacefully and build our own place. The time has come and it is now and I believe we can decide for our own sovereignty.

Every blood of Dagbon irrespective of where you live in the upcoming December election, let us come in our numbers and vote for the man God has chosen for our motherland Ghana President John Mahama who without a shadow of doubt, I strongly believe God has given the wisdom to restore our stool to its normal position with enormous understanding and respect for each group.

Fellow citizens, many Presidents have come and gone and no constructive measures done towards the vacuum created. How long shall we keep waiting until this generation phases out? Though our fathers chose to vote for a particular party does not mean we should stick to same pattern knowing very well it might not deliver to meeting the needs and aspirations of our people.

The outcome of this year’s December elections will greatly determine the fate and future of the throne of Dagbon. Let us wear the garment of tolerance and respect for each other. No provocative words among any individual or group of people.

Let’s all, both Andanis and Abudu s come out on December 7th and vote massively for President Mahama so that by the grace of God the formal glory of Dagbon can be restored through dialogue between both parties and with our own understanding we can lay our late chief Yaa Naa Yakubu to rest and his brother Yaa Naa Muhammed's funeral rites could be performed to pave a new way for Dagbon through mutual understanding by both parties.

There is no best times than right now and my people let’s take this opportunity to give hope to our children. There is hope in the horizon and President Mahama constitutes the nucleus of it all. God bless Dagombas and Ghana as a whole.