Regional News of Tuesday, 26 June 2007

Source: Space FM,Sunyani

Abudu Youth Beat Peace Drums

The Youth Wing of the Abudu Royal Family, has appealed to the office of the Chief Imam, the Chirstian Council and all civil society organisations engaged in peace building, to assist the committee of Iminent Chiefs, led by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to expediate action on the Roadmap to peace in the Dagbon Traditional Area.

The youth noted that "the roadmap was reached at a consensus meeting between the two Royal Families (Abudu and Andani) with the facilitation of the committee of Iminent chiefs and must therefore be followed."

The national president of the Abudu Youth Association, Alhaji Mugisu Sibawey, said this at a meeting in Sunyani attended by over two hundred youth.

Alhaji Mugisu pointed out that "the roadmap among other things made it clear that the burial of the late Ya-Na Yakubu be followed by the enskiment of a regent, and then the funeral rites peformance of the late Ya-Na Mahamadu Abdulai".

"However, for about fifteen months since the burial of late Ya-Na Yakubu and the enskiment of a regent, nothing concrete has been done or even initiated by the committee of iminent chiefs and or government for the funeral of the late Ya-Na Mahamadu to be performed", the national president added.

Alhaji Mugisu said the youth of the Abudu Royal Family are very much concerned about the apparent delay in the executing the roadmap to peace in the Dagbon Tradtional Area and therefore appealed to the Asantehene and his iminent chiefs to speed up the process to peace in the area.

"We are much concerned about these unhappy developments not necessarily because we want to perform the funeral of the late Ya-Na Mahamadu, but also to ensure genuine peace to the tradition", the president said.

He noted further that "It is not the wish of any member of the Abudu to plung Dagbon into crises, but the current position of Dagbon could not be equated to peace. The best to describe it is "seizure of hostilities".

The national president observed that key stakeholders in the chieftaincy crises, for the reason of seizure of open hostilities, have attached less importance to the implementation of the roadmap to its logical conclusion.

'But they should be aware of the fact that, each step under the roadmap has an equal importance and impact to ensuring peace to the Dagbon chieftaincy divide", he said.