Otumfuo Osei Tutu II
We recognize the invaluable role of the Committee Of Eminent Chiefs in fashioning out a roadmap towards peace in Dagbon; the steadfastness of the committee in the face of tendentious machinations of some bad elements to derail the efforts so far is commendable.
We are pleased that President Akufo Addo has made good his commitment to ensuring that all is done to reach the promised land with an amicable resolution of the imbroglio whose national security implications cannot be overlooked.
A couple of days ago, the steadfastness of the eminent chiefs was in full glare when the Asantehene, the head of the committee, warned the media about reports which tend to throw spanners into the works. For those who expected the recent clash in the town, after detonating their plan, to kill the spirits of the eminent chiefs must be ashamed by now that they have failed and the good and majority of Ghanaians desirous of peace have triumphed.
The final leg of the roadmap should not suffer anymore hiccups. We cannot afford to lose all the gains chalked so far just because some killjoys want it so.
Those who are in favour of peace outnumber their opposite whose toxic enterprise is close to dying off as we head for the final rounds of the rituals by the end of this week.
The last lap is one which should be watched carefully not only by the security agencies especially the BNI and the national security operatives but all Ghanaians who mean well for this country in general and Dagbon in particular.
The warning to the media and especially social media players by the Otumfuo is particularly important. The messages of the media when the clashes rocked Yendi did not help matters but rather exacerbated them. While some of the emanating reports were unprofessional, the objective being the satisfaction of the whims and caprices of some interest groups, others smacked of ignorance about the subject.
Reporting about such issues when the locations being reported about are encountering security challenges, requires a high level of finesse and responsibility.
The Ashanti King’s demand that information from Yendi at this time when the Andani gate is performing the funeral of the late Overlord of Dagbon should originate from the appropriate quarters, is a step in the right direction.
Leaving the management of information at the hands of irresponsible persons whose access to social media and even the media is unfettered can be chaotic.
We wish to add that anybody whose activities are injurious to the fragile peace being nurtured through deliberate manipulation of facts should be made to face the full wrath of the law. After all, the Yendi area is a security zone, an inflammable one of course, which should be spared such media machinations.