The Bale-wura of the Bole Traditional Area, Seidu Iddi, who was a former Northern Regional Minister and the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), has been nominated as the Mandariwura of the Bole Traditional Area by the Paramount Chief, Bolewura Safo Kutuge Feso (I) and his Council of Chiefs at a meeting on June 5, 2023.

He succeeds the late Mandariwura Alhaji Dramani Mumuni Enimu Tase Kra Kunfo, who passed on in April 2023.

The Mandari skin of the Bole Traditional Area is the most prominent skin after the Bole skin.

The newly nominated Mandariwura, who was also a Lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension of the University for Development Studies (UDS) and Head of Department (HOD) for seven years, hopes to deploy his knowledge and expertise in the public service, academia and social life to the chieftaincy institution in the Bole Traditional area.

Before the nomination, Bolewura called for patience from all Sub- Chiefs, especially those that were interested in the Mandari skin.

He said Chieftaincy is luck and destiny, and so all will ascend bigger skins in future.

Bolewura Sarfo Kutuge Feso (I), after the nomination, entreated the new Mandariwura and the leaders of the various gates in Bole to work to unite everyone.

He urged the new Mandariwura to exercise patience in all his dealings with the people.

Profile of newly nominated Mandariwura

The newly nominated Mandariwura Seidu Iddi was born to Iddi Seidu, popularly known as Iddi Aguffo, one of the early educated citizens of Gonjaland that hails from the Chichanko House of the Sarfope gate, one of the three in the Bole Traditional Area. Iddi Aguffo worked with the then-colonial administrators (District Commissioner) as a bailiff interpreter.

He attended the Bole L.A. Primary School from Primary 3 to Primary 6 and became one of the pioneers of the then Middle Day School, from where he proceeded to Azoka Secondary (now Bawku Secondary).

The newly nominated Mandariwura was one of few graduates who attended sixth form at Tamale Secondary School, from where he proceeded to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and graduated with a BSc Degree in Agriculture.

He subsequently attended the University of Reading (UK) for the MSc Degree in Agriculture Extension and Rural Development. While in employment, he attended several other local and international courses, amongst which were a post-graduate certificate program in cotton growing and extension methods from RUPPIN Institute of Agriculture in Israel, an Agricultural Management Training for Africa (AMTA) at GIMPA and sponsored by the World Bank.

After graduating from KNUST, the newly nominated Mandariwura worked very briefly with the then Northern Regional Development Cooperation (NRDC) as a Project Officer and was later transferred to Cotton Development Board on National Service postings. In the cotton sector he worked as a Cotton Production Officer (CPO) as well as a Cotton Research Officer (CRO). Alhaji Iddi’s career development took him to the Borno state of Northern Nigeria, where he was posted to the Kukawa Local Government Area as the Agricultural Officer in charge of the Local Government Area.

He was promoted to the state capital as Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Extension Demonstration Unit of the Borno state of Nigeria.

Back home in Ghana, he work with an International multi-million dollar donor-sponsored project (IFAD) as an Agricultural Extension Coordinator and second in command to the project coordinator. At this stage, he was promoted to the position of Senior Agric Officer of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

After a successful professional career, the then PNDC government appointed the newly nominated Mandariwura to the position of Deputy Regional Minister for Agriculture, Northern Region, the beginning of his political career.

In 1996, when the position of Deputy Regional Agriculture Minister was abolished, he was elevated to a substantive Ministerial position, Northern Regional Minister, for four years. He sojourned in Volta region, on transfer, as Volta Regional Minister for a year and reverted to the Northern Region as Northern Regional Minister until the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government was voted out of office in the year 2000.

Out of political office, newly nominated Mandariwura Seidu Iddi pursued an academic career as a lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension of the University for Development Studies (UDS). He became Head of Department (HOD) for 7 years before going on retirement.

After retiring from the University, he proceeded to start up the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) on a two-year contract as the first Chief Executive Officer for SADA. He has since retired from public Service, the Academia before his enskinment as Balewura on April 3, 2001.