Nanton-Naa Mahamadu Bawa (V) at the Gbewaa Palace
Nanton-Naa Mahamadu Bawa (V), Chief of Nanton in the Dagbon Kingdom has appealed to the government to move out of the area, a rival claimant to the Nanton skin, to enable him to settle in his traditional area.
Nanton-Naa Bawa (V) expressed gratitude to the government for helping to resolve the Dagbon conflict but added that "We hope that the government will equally take the necessary steps to remove the Zoosal-Lana from Nanton because he has been a usurper".
He added that "even if the law is to be taken into consideration, it is against the Chieftaincy Law, and he should have been prosecuted for that but for the sake of peace, we want everything to go on smoothly" so government should move him out of the place.
Nanton-Naa Bawa (V) made the appeal in an interview with the media at Yendi.
Ya-Na Abukari (II), in April, this year, in line with customs and traditions of Dagbon, enskinned Mahamadu Bawa as the rightful Chief of Nanton.
However, Zoosal-Lana Haruna Sulemana refused to accept the Ya-Na's choice of Chief for the area, and has since been holding out himself as the Chief of the area.
In August, this year, 45 out of the 57 Sub and Divisional Chiefs at Nanton Traditional Area held a press conference and demanded the removal of the Zoosal-Lana Sulemana from the area.
The Zoosal-Lana's continued stay in the area and refusal to endorse the Ya-Na's choice of Chief for the area has made the area relatively volatile, a situation, which has made it difficult for the rightfully enskinned Nanton-Naa, Mahamadu Bawa (V) to move to the area to perform his traditional roles.
Nanton-Naa Bawa (V) said "We do not want to do anything untoward to erase the good name of the government that has gone to the settlement of the Dagbon conflict" expressing need for the government to take the necessary steps to ensure order at Nanton by removing the Zoosal-Lana from the area.
