Ghana’s 62nd Independence Day celebration will be held in Tamale to idolize the restoration of peace and unity in the Dagbon Kingdom, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has officially announced.
This is the first time in the history of Ghana that the nation’s independence anniversary is being held outside the national capital, Accra.
Delivering the 2019 State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament on Thursday February 21, President Akufo-Addo according to WatchGhana.Com Parliamentary Correspondent, commended the mediation Committee of Eminent Chiefs led by the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for leading the processes to bring 17 year old conflict between the Abudus and Andanis to an appreciable close.
The mediation process that gave birth to the Dagbon Peace Roadmap ensured the successful burials and performances of funeral rites of both Ya-Na Mahamudu Abdulai and Ya-Na Yakubu Andani as well as the installation of a new Ya-Na for the Dagbon Kingdom, Ya-Na Abubakari Mahama.
President Akufo-Addo explained that when he was elected into office as Ghana’s President two years ago, he decided to summon all the resources of the state and his own energies to make a concerted effort through the dedicated, patriotic Committee of Eminent Chiefs that had been working on the Dagbon crisis for the past 17 years, to find an acceptable solution.
He said Ghana had spent enough emotional stress, enough time, enough energy and enough money on the Dagbon dispute; and that he wanted those resources to be spent on making Dagbon and Ghana prosperous.
Below is what President said about Dagbon
1. A month ago, almost to the day, I was in Yendi, fittingly attired as a self-proclaimed Prince of Dagbon, Prince Abudani, the first of that lineage, to witness the installation of Yaa-Na Mahama Abukari II as the overlord of Dagbon.
2. Thousands of our compatriots were there to share in the joy of the occasion. It was a ceremony that many had despaired we would ever see, but a new Yaa-Na, accepted by the two gates of Abudu and Andani, was installed on that day.
3. The installation of a new Yaa-Na brought to an end decade of feuding that laid low the proud and ancient kingdom of Dagbon. It was a happy day, and it marked the climax of a long, tortuous journey, and a hard grind on the part of many people through the years.
4. Two years ago, when I had the honour to become President of our country, I decided to summon all the resources of the state and my own energies, and make a concerted effort through the dedicated, patriotic Committee of Eminent Chiefs that had been working on the problem for the past 17 years, to find an acceptable solution. With the blessings of the Almighty, we have had a breakthrough, and this led to the month-long series of events that climaxed in the installation on 25th January, 2019.
5. I was not looking to be accorded any special title or accolade, and I was certainly not looking for praise. I did want to do whatever I could to make sure that this long running sore, that was such a blight on Dagbon and Ghana, and which dragged down the development process in our country, could be resolved, and we could move on.
6. We had spent enough emotional stress, enough time, enough energy and enough money on the Dagbon dispute; I wanted that amount of emotion, that time, that energy and that money to be spent on making Dagbon and Ghana prosperous.
7. The Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs intends to use the momentum of the Dagbon settlement to tackle the other protracted chieftaincy disputes in the country, hopefully, for resolution.
Independence Day
Independence Day
1. In order to reinforce and support the process of reconciliation and the restoration of peace in Dagbon, I have decided that, this year, the 62nd Independence Day celebration will be held in Tamale, on 6th March. This will be the first time in our nation’s history that the celebration is being held outside of our national capital of Accra. I am, very much, looking forward to it.
, December 09, 2019