STATEMENT BY THE REGENT OF DAGBON KAMPAKUYA NAA ABDULAI YAKUBU ANDANI ON THE OCCASION OF THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEMISE OF YA-NA YAKUBU ANDANI II AND OTHER MEMBERS OF HIS RETINUE: MARCH 27, 2012.
To all citizens of Dagbon at home and beyond, I convey salutations of peace. Tuesday, March 27, 2012 marks the tenth anniversary of the demise of the overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II and several other citizens of Dagbon who were with him in the Gbewaa Palace on that fateful day.
May the Almighty God have mercy on their souls! The day is also an occasion for sober reflection, and we should commit ourselves to do whatever is necessary to prevent that tragedy from ever happening again in Dagbon.
I urge the forces of peace in Dagbon to demonstrate their moral superiority over those who in the recent past abused and misdirected their power to inflict a tragedy of such unprecedented magnitude on the people of Dagbon.
I invite you all to join me to steer our people away from the edge of the abyss towards which the perpetrators of the heinous crimes of March 27, 2002 had pushed Dagbon.
This tragedy was the apex of a missed historic opportunity coming at a time many prominent citizens of Dagbon extraction were occupying very high-profile national positions. The tragedy has led to a desperate socio-economic crisis in Dagbon.
A crisis which has continued to manifest itself in the unacceptably high levels of unemployment and its attendant idleness among the majority of the people, the mass exodus of the best of Dagbon youth to southern Ghana in desperate search for opportunities their homeland Dagbon has failed to provide them, and the treat of social disintegration that all these have continued to pose.
Things cannot continue this way. Change is necessary. And the change I envisage is directed towards restoring hope among the people of Dagbon, especially the youth, and I am committed to using the authority that the skin on which I am sitting commands, to facilitate the mobilisation of the people for development.
But the circumstances of this anniversary clearly confirm the familiar axiom that development can only take place under conditions of peace and the rule of law. Indeed I pledge to do everything within my power to ensure that there is enduring peace and tranquility in Dagbon and beyond. But I also hasten to add that for peace to endure, it must be anchored on justice.
This is why on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the murder of Yaa-Naa Yakubu Andani II and the other members of his retinue, I would like to reiterate the demand that those who were responsible for those murders are made to answer for their crimes.
It is also in the same vein that I welcome the renewed interest directed at ensuring that those who were responsible for the murder of Alhaji Issah Mobila are brought to justice. It is my hope that this would be extended to all other acts of impunity that have taken place in Dagbon in the recent past. When these are done, a significant step would have been taken towards ensuring that the culture of impunity that characterized behaviour in Dagbon in the recent past will not recur.
It will also send a strong signal that flouting the rule of law has its consequences. When the law takes its course and crime is punished, this would create the right conditions for lasting peace and development. I, on my part, am ready to stretch a hand of co-operation to anyone or any group of people in Dagbon whose hands are not tainted with the blood of those who perished on March 27, 2002.
It is in this connection that I urge all forward-looking citizens of Dagbon to join me in committing ourselves to peace and to pledge to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the relative peace that Dagbon has been enjoying in the past couple of years continues to endure.
The tragedy and criminal acts which shattered the tranquility in Dagbon in March 2002 should drive home lessons that that senseless violence is counterproductive and can only obstruct constructive development. This is the reason why every effort must be made to isolate those forces who have taken up arms against peace and development.
The traditions and customs as laid down by our ancestors have inbuilt provisions that, adhered to with honesty, can guarantee peace and stability in Dagbon. If we all make a firm commitment to peace and an honest adherence to our customs and traditions, then we would have taken a very significant step towards isolating and defeating those sinister forces who only thrive under conditions of permanent animosity and bitterness
. One sure way of defeating them is to expose them for who they are, and to ensure that they never benefit from their crime. The government of the day can assist in this by ensuring that the relevant institutions of law and justice fulfill their obligations to the people of Ghana and of Dagbon in particular, by thoroughly and diligently carrying out the criminal investigations and subsequently ensuring the successful prosecution of those who killed Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, those who were responsible for the murders that occurred on that fateful day March 27, 2002, those who financed the operation and those who facilitated the entire process.
As we offer prayers to the souls of Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II and those of the members of his retinue on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of their demise, we are confident that their deaths shall not be in vain and that their blood would nourish the roots of a new dawn of peace and tranquility in Dagbon as well as ensure the triumph of reason over aggression.
LONG LIVE DAGBON!
LONG LIVE GHANA!
KAMPAKUYA NAA ABDULAI YAKUBU ANDANI (Regent of Dagbon) ]]>
