Tamale residents hail decision to bury Ya-Na

Tamale, April 6, GNA - Some residents in the Tamale Metropolis on Wednesday welcomed the decision of the eminent chiefs to bury the late Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, the overlord of the Dagbon Traditional Area, who was murdered alongside 40 others in 2002 on April 11, this year. They have, however, called on the two gates to respect and accept each other's views during and after the burial process to ensure peace in the interest of the country and in Dagbon in particular.

Speaking in separate interviews with the GNA in Tamale on Wednesday, some of the residents appealed to the two sides to exhibit the same spirit of compromise and accept one recognized regent after the burial to ensure that a new king is enskinned.

Mr Albert Atutiga, Vice President of the Tamale Youth Association (TYA) appealed to the youth to suppress their youthful emotions and allow the elders to complete the burial process without any mayhem.

He said the burial was a solemn occasion and stressed the need to beef up security during the burial to protect elders and other interested groups in Yendi and Tamale.

He assured the youth that peace for Dagbon was a victory for the whole of the north, since investors would come to invest there, which was a source of employment to them and a boost in the economy of the north. Mr Imoro Alhassan, Northern Regional chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) said "The decision to bury the chief is a welcome news to both strangers and Dagombas living in Dagbon, since the burial is the first phase of seeking lasting peace for the area".

He said the delay in burying the chief was another nightmare on some concerned citizens of the area and called on the youth not to do anything that would mar the burial process saying, "Only the elders know the customary and traditional ways of burying a Ya-NA".

Mr Imoro has therefore, appealed to the youth to leave everything to the elders and called on other concerned bodies that matter not to be scared of the heavy security presence on the burial day, since their presence would be to ensure calm.

Mr Joseph Dossah, a resident expressed gratitude that at long last a decision had been taken to bury the chief and described the occasion as a victory to the whole of Dagbon and indicated that they should for now leave the issue of who becomes a regent and ensure that the chief had a befitting burial.

He explained that if the chief is buried, the issue of who becomes the regent could be solved easily, adding that, what was important now was to ensure that the late chief is buried.

Mr Dossah appealed to the government not to hesitate to stretch a helping hand where necessary to ensure that both sides were satisfied to maintain the peace that was currently prevailing. Mr Edward Ameyibor, immediate past Supervising Chief Editor of the GNA and General Manager of Diamond FM, a private radio station operating in Tamale cautioned the media to be circumspect in their reportage so as not to derail the peace process that begun with the burial. Others who spoke to the GNA called for continuous security patrols both at Yendi and the Tamale Metropolis and surrounding communities during the burial and after to scare potential troublemakers off.