Why the NPP Govt Must Find Ya-Na?s Killers- A Rejoinder

In Ziblim?s rejoinder to the above-mentioned subject on Ghana web on Friday 23rd July 2004, he did mention that Dr. Amin failed to recognise the efforts made so far by the government, which have resulted to positive developments in the Dagbon peace process.

I really do not know what Ziblim is referring to as ?positive developments?? Is it the recent announcement made by the government regarding the preparation for the burial of the late Ya-Na, which is being referred to as ?positive developments? or what? It is imperative for all of us to know that, it will be a short- sighted delusion for anybody to think that the burial of the Ya-Na will necessarily bring sustainable peace to Dagbon. In my opinion, nothing positive has come up so far from the Dagbon peace process. What the government has been doing all this while is to promote false peace, which is very disturbing. This is so because; the ramification for promoting false peace is to leave at the core of our society, a source of pain, division and hatred. It will therefore do the government much good if it commits itself in promoting genuine peace rather than wasting the taxpayers? money to promote false peace. The only way out of the Dagbon morass is for the government to find the murderers of the late Ya-Na and the forty others and bring them to justice. It is the NPP government?s responsibility to find the perpetrators of the heinous crime since it wittingly failed to avert the attack on the Ya-Na?s palace. Let us not forget that it is only the disclosure of the truth and the search for justice that can surely create the moral climate in which reconciliation and genuine peace can flourish. If justice is not sought, there will be little hope of escaping future cyclical outbreaks of violence in Dagbon.

Alluding to the work of the Wuako commission, Ziblim stated in his rejoinder that Dr. Amin ignored the non-cooperation of the Andanis at the commission. I am highly nonplussed about Ziblim?s ignorance of what actually transpired at the commission?s hearing. The Andanis chose not to cooperate because there were all indications that the commission was bias, partisan and subjective in carrying out its work. In fact, the commission members simply ignored the key elements of the issue in order to appease the belligerent group (the Abudus) and the government (their employer). Anyway, some of us already expected that because, as the saying goes, ? he who pays the piper calls the tune?. The commission members referred to the attack on the Ya-Na?s palace as an attack between the Andanis and the Abudus. Is it not absolute tosh to refer to an attack on somebody as a war? If it was, indeed, an attack, why then did it all occur at the Ya-Na?s palace and not on a neutral ground? To be very honest, the retired judge together with the Linguistics professor and the other incompetent members of the commission only succeeded in squandering the nation?s scarce resources because every level headed person knows that there is a clear difference between an attack and a war.

Finally, in trying to defend the indefensible, my good friend Ziblim unblushingly described himself as a proud sympathizer of the Abudus. But who cares a fig about that? No matter which gate one sympathizes with, I do not think it is worth wasting people?s time on such trivialities and superlative nonsense. If Ziblim aligns himself with belligerents and murderers who cares? If Ziblim associates himself with a group whose only interest is to wreak havoc in Dagbon and annihilate its opponents, who cares? If Ziblim is a proud sympathizer of a group that has a predilection for carnage and plunder, who cares?

If my good friend Ziblim does not have any sinister motive, then it would be better for him to engage himself in finding a lasting solution to the Dagbon imbroglio rather than allowing his emotions to override his sense of reasoning.

Baba, Jato Dagara
Babayilli- Yendi

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