President Akufo-Addo arriving at the Tamale Airport enroute to Yendi
President Akufo-Addo arrived in Tamale yesterday ahead of today’s final enskinment of Yoo-Naa Abukari Mahama II as the new Yaa-Naa in Yendi, which is about 56 miles from the regional capital.
Today’s event is the culmination of the roadmap to peace fashioned out by the Committee of Eminent Chiefs with the approval of relevant traditional authorities in Dagbon.
The President was accompanied by the National Security Minister, Albert Kan Daapah, Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul and other party executives.
At the Tamale International Airport to welcome the President and his entourage were the Northern Regional Executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and thousands of supporters of the ruling party.
The arrival created a heavy vehicular traffic on the Tamale-Bolgatanga Highway which also serves as the route from the airport to the city centre.
The normal 20-minute journey took over an hour and half, an unusual development occasioned by the extra vehicles on the road.
The chief of Savelugu, Nyab Yoo-Naa, the title of a man who would become a full-fledged Yaa Naa today, was handed the cola of kingship by the Gushei Naa and Kug Naa in accordance with Dagbon tradition after the funeral rites for the late Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II, who died in 2002, were completed.
Yoo Naa Abubakar, head of the Andani Royal Family in Dagbon, takes over from the Kampakuya Naa, son of the late overlord of Dagbon, who temporarily occupied the skin pending the selection of a substantive Yaa Naa.
Dagbon had been engulfed in a protracted chieftaincy dispute for over 15 years after the demise of Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II, which had claimed several lives and destroyed properties.
The Committee of Eminent Chiefs, led by Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, convinced the Abudus and Andanis to adhere to the roadmap to peace in Dagbon, which led to the performance of the funeral rites of the late overlords of Dagbon Yaa Naa Mahamadu Abdulai and Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani.
The funeral rites for the late Yaa Naa Mahamadu Abdulai IV commenced on December 14 and ended on December 28, 2018, after which the Abudus left the Gbewaa Palace peacefully.
The Andanis also took their turn at the Gbewaa Palace and performed the funeral rites of the late Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II from 11-18 January 2019.
Agbomefia of the Asogli State, Togbe Afede XIV, who doubles as the President of the National House of Chiefs and Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, are expected in Yendi today for the important traditional activity.
From Eric Kombat, Tamale