The Ghana Leadership Union (GLU), a leadership think-tank has strongly condemned the unwarranted attack on a professional police officer by the youth and Paramount Chief of the Dagbon traditional area, Yaa Naa Abukari Mahama. The said attack was reported and circulated widely in the media.
“Such attitudes of our paramount chiefs and traditional leaders on professional police officers and other appointed civil servants can only be described as simply uncalled for, unnecessary exertion of unlawful authority, and utterly ridiculous. They can be considered by others as barbaric and very uncivilized,” the think-tank said in a press statement signed and released on Wednesday July 15, 2020 by its president Dr. Kwaku A. Danso.
GLU reminded the Paramount Chief of Dagbon traditional Area not to forget the sacrifices tax payers in Ghana have made to restore peace to Yendi, and that violence is not the only way to solve issues. They are of the view that the Paramount Chief has no mandate to determine who lives in Yendi or order any public officer to leave the Yendi municipality.
The Ghana Leadership Union says it has observed with dismay that from nowhere some paramount chiefs of rural communities have “assumed some unnecessary powers” in this country and these actions have led to wars in some nations, and “Ghana definitely does not want to be involved in such barbaric behavior”.
It observed that, it is these tendencies of the people that has resulted in the lack of any serious investment in some parts of the country including Yendi, hence, such attitudes by the Chiefs, need to be spoken against or checked, else it will not only jeopardize the development of Ghana, but will threaten its peace as well.
The release said members of the GLU scattered around the world, including the USA, Canada, Europe and Australia are often the ones who have to “defend some of such attitudes that make others look down upon our people”.
GLU has also observed that these power-show down attitudes started from the Paramount Chief of Akyem Abuakwa in the Eastern Region, then the Asogli area in the Volta region, the Dormaa Traditional Area in the Bono Region, the Kwahu area in the Eastern Region, and now Yendi in the Northern region.
“Sadly, these Chiefs are presiding over rural communities with less than 200,000 population, most of whom live in abject poverty with poor human development indices, poor infrastructure and very miserable lives for the youth in these rural traditional areas” the group lamented.
GLU said the Chiefs have not been able to attract major capital investment, create jobs, and help their people. “If there is anything that should be of concern to these Chiefs, it should be investment in both human and material capital that will help in reducing the torrential crisis of poverty and underdevelopment in these rural traditional areas. Some of these areas have no clean pipe born water, no sewage systems, and humans engaging in open defecation that we all should be ashamed of”, the statement noted.
“We will like to state unequivocally that, this seemingly power-grabbing attitude of our paramount chiefs is illegal, unconstitutional, and must stop now! Chiefs are not above the laws of Ghana!
“The people of Ghana in their own rights voted on a constitution that did not give our old Chiefs powers beyond control over some lands. We surely did not authorise them to make laws and be the judges and jury at the same time as in the olden days. Even in the exercise of control over lands our Chiefs have set a really bad example in failing to manage and modernise land data and registration. Litigation, pomp and pageantry seem to be the one reputation Ghanaian Chiefs are internationally known for. The UN statistics lists Ghana as taking an average of 11-13 years to resolve land transaction issues”.
“Ghanaians expect Chiefs to take leadership role in modernising their towns and districts with elected Town Councils and empowering local development under laws. This includes land data registry, street addressing and house numbering systems, and births and death registry for the towns. Chiefs should support and join the election of Town Councils and help manage their own areas instead of fighting for power.
The think-tank appealed to Chiefs in Ghana to refrain from influencing the withdrawal of criminal cases before the police or determining who comes or leaves in any part of the country.
GLU is of the strongest of opinion that this backward attitude of chiefs in Ghana must stop now! “There is now law against prosecution of civil or criminal laws! We are by this press statement calling on the Inspector General of Police, Police Council and Government, as a matter of urgency, to quickly send a delegation to resolve this dispute”.
Source: ghananewsonline.com.gh