The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, has called for the setting up of a Dagbon Peace Committee to deal with any threat to peace in the Kingdom.
He said the recent success chalked up after nearly two decades of protracted chieftaincy conflict, must not be allowed to recur.
Dr. Ibn Chambas said this when he delivered the maiden Damba festival lectures in Tamale on Saturday, October 26, 2019.
Almost all the ethnic groups in northern Ghana, celebrate the Damba festival.
In Dagbon history, it is believed that, one of the oldest and illustrious Kings Ya-Na Zangina started the celebration of Damba in 1648.
However, since 2002, the celebration of Damba suffered a setback following a protracted chieftaincy conflict that left Dagbon divided.
In the later part of last year, there was a breakthrough, that culminated in the enskinment of Ya-Na Abukari Mahama II.
And the new King is following the footsteps of the great Kings of one of the oldest Kingdoms in West Africa.
As part of the first celebration of Damba under his Kingship, Ya-Na Abukari Mahama, has introduced a new dimension which is a lecture series.
Hundreds of people including the Yoo-Na and Mion Lana, who until recent times had never been seen together in public were present.
Also present were the Chairman of the National Peace Council Rev. Professor Emmanuel Asante, the Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu and and other officials from the UN.
The UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for West Africa and the the Sahel, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas emphasized the need for Dagbon to bury the past and move forward.
He called for the setting up of a Peace Committee to safeguard the Kingdom from conflicts.
“The key for all of us is to ensure non recurrence of events and violence of the past. Your majesty, you may also wish to set up a Dagbon Peace Committee. To work closely with the Dagbon Forum and others, the functions of which can closely mirror the district peace committees and that these peace committee can then work under the coordination and in close cooperation with the regional peace council” he suggested.
Dr. Ibn Chambas, noted that, Dagbon and for that matter the Northern region lags behind the rest of the country in terms of socio-economic development.
He said, the region cannot afford to go back to the past and called on the people to embrace a new era of peace, security and development.
“If the population of Dagbon, if the population of Tamale by 2050, that is just in 30 years time, doubles, what opportunities will there be to feed, clothe, provide good housing, schools, hospitals, jobs and I mean well paying jobs for this teemj g numbers of the population” he asked.
The Chairman for the occasion, the Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, (GBC), Professor Amin Alhassan, noted that, the maiden Damba lectures mark a new beginning for Dagbon.
He said the King is charting a new path of Development for Dagbon and therefore called on all sons and daughters of the Kingdom to support him.
“The narrative of disunity has closed, the new narrative of development and unity has begun.” He entreated all to bury their differences and support the new era.
