Last week’s enskinment of Ya Na Abukari in Yendi was by all measures a historic and great occasion; it was a moment to savor and a scene to behold. Palpable excitement was in the air and justifiably so.
President Nana Akuffo Addo and other dignitaries graced the occasion and watched as the new Overlord of Dagbon swore to uphold the traditions and customs of his people and to preserve at all cost the unity that has just been forged.
The entire ceremony was the crowning and deserving success to years of hard work and painstaking negotiations. Wise heads prevailed and those who sought to derail efforts at Dagbon unity were put to pasture.
So logically, praise ought to be ladled out to those who made Friday’s event possible, primarily the committee of eminent traditional chiefs, the two former rivals and main contenders — the Andanis and the Abduls, the former presidents of Ghana, Mr. John Kufour, Mr. Arthur Mills and Mr. John Mahama, the current occupant of Jubilee House, Mr. Akuffo Addo, but more importantly, the people of Dagbon who had endured years of uncertainty, fear and violence.
And how can we forget members of the security agencies who stood between those intent on promoting peace and those keen on creating chaos and mayhem. This was a victory not only for the northern region but for the entire nation more broadly.
Now that there has been something closely resembling a rebirth, a renaissance in Dagbon, what next, what would the contours of a future Dagbon look like and what should be done to promote sustainable peace, harmony and development?
That in large measure would depend wholly on the people of Dagbon and their desire and determination to live in peace by jettisoning their differences and looking ahead to a period where the development of Dagbon will be the focal point.
Without mincing words, let it be stated forcefully that the onus is on the people of Dagbon to assure the rest of the country that they are ready more than ever before to leave their troubled past behind and embrace a bright and hopeful future.
With peace now prevailing in Dagbon, stereotypes about northerners depicting us as violence prone hopefully will be discarded once and for all. Northerners are not by nature violent. Far from it
The Yendi Chieftaincy dispute was used unfairly to define northerners, and the narrative that it prevented development in the region was pushed relentlessly to the extent that it literally scared away investors, both domestic and foreign. Well, it is a new era in Dagbon and northerners ought to be seen in a different light altogether.
By and by, a lot will be riding on the new King, Na Abukari to take the bull by the horn and lead Dagbon out of its previous dark period into a future filled with hope, optimism and confidence.
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