Gonjas are peace loving; their leniency should never be taken as weakness - Yagbonwura

The King and Overlord of the Gonja Kingdom and President of the Gonja Traditional Council, Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto Jewu Soale (I) on the 12th of June, 2023 during an extraordinary meeting of the Gonja Traditional Council held in Damongo, the capital town of the West Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region said the Gonjas by nature are peace-loving people but their leniency should never be taken as a weakness.

The Overlord of Gonja Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto Jewu Soale (I) in his speech read by Jantonwura Peter Awusi Yakubu (Secretary to the Paramount Chief of the Wasipe Traditional Area on the first day of the two-day Council said the Gonja Kingdom is confronted with territorial and boundary issues some within ourselves and others with our neighboring ethnic groups.

Yagbonwura said every chief in Gonja “must make it a point to jealously guard and guide the land that our forefathers fought for us from encroachers and that every chief who has a boundary with other tribes must ensure that there are demarcations and landmarks that separate Gonjaland with others” adding “Whiles within us we solve the in-house land problems this will help us unite to protect the Yagbon lands”.

The Overlord of Gonja cited the recent disturbances by some Mamprusis in the Wasipe Traditional Area of Gonja as a worry to him and his sons and for that matter, the entire Gonja.

“For this reason, the is a need to set a committee to liaise with the relevant stakeholders to re-demarcate our boundaries and ensure that settlers abide by our rules,” he said.

Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto (I) added that; “any settler who tries to foment trouble and disturb our peace shall face our wrath in accordance with the laws of the land.

The second sitting of the Gonja Traditional Council continues on Tuesday 13th June 2023.

The King and Overlord of the Gonja Kingdom Yagbonwura Bii- Kunuto Jewu Soale (I) earlier called on the feuding factions at the Wasipe traditional area in Savannah Region and to lay down their arms and give peace a chance.

This was contained in a press statement copied to Bole-based Nkilgi Fm on 4th June 2023.

The Overlord of Gonja said, the situation at Lukula in the Waipe Traditional Area (North Gonja District) is quite unfortunate and deserves condemnation in no uncertain terms, adding that, the people of the two great Kingdoms Gonja and Mamprugu have coexisted peacefully over the years without any problem, and by his statement is calling on “all individuals and groups involved in the conflict to lay down their arms and give peace a chance.”

Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto (I) called on all sons and daughters of the Gonja and Mamprugu kingdoms to remain calm while the appropriate institutions responsible for boundary demarcations as well as the law enforcement agencies take the necessary steps to restore sustainable peace in Lukula and its environs.