FINAL PEACE AGREEMENT
STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE OF EMINENT KINGS OF HIS MAJESTY OTUMFUO OSEI TUTU II; THE YAGBONWURA BAWA DOSHIE AND THE NAYIRI MAHAMI ABDULAI NAA BOHAGU CONTAINING THE FINAL PEACE AGREEMENT ON THE DAGBON CHIEFTAINCY CONFLICT.
Background
In furtherance of the “Roadmap to Peace” signed by the representatives of the Royal Abudu and Andani Gates at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on the 30th March 2006,the Eminent Kings have met with accredited representatives of the families on the 16th and 17th November 2007 to agree on a final peace agreement on th Dagbon chieftaincy conflict, in reaching the final Peace Agreement we take notice of the following clauses of the “Roadmap to Peace”
1. Clause A, “that since Naa Yakubu Andani died in office his regent will take precedence and that Dagbon custom did not contemplate a situation where there would would be two sitting Ya Naas or Regents at the same time”.
2. Clause I “there can only be one palace in Dagbon kingdom. The temporary palace was constructed following the unfortunate incidents of 2002. In this connection the old Gbewaa Palace should remain free of occupation of any activity until a date is set for the performance of the funeral rites of Naa Mahamadu Abdulai”.
3. Clause j “that since Naa Mahamadu Abdulai died before Na Yakubu Andani , his funeral should be performed first”.
4. Clause k that “the eminent kings shall agree upon a time frame with all the parties within which the respective funerals of the late Ya Naa shall be performed”
5. Cluase l “that the parties pledged to abide by this roadmap to peace and to encourage their supporters to continue to keep the peace”
The Eminent Kingswish to remind all the representatives of the parties that the “Roadmap” made comprehensive provisions towards the attainment of final peace in Dagbon. None of the parties can therefore raise arguments that run contrary to the provisions of the :”Roadmap” which they signed. Additionally, this Agreement complements the provisions of the “Roadmap> the provisions of which arew still valid and binding on the parties.
Furthermore, we lament the killing of our brother Naa Yakubu Andani and some of his elders . His death is a loss to the Dagbon State and to Ghana. We urge the government to intensify efforts to apprehend his killers and prosecute themin accordance with the rule of law. Crimes are not statute- barred under our laws. The prosecution of his killers will send a powerful signal and that succession to the Namship can not be by force of arms , but through the long cherished legal and customary processes of Dagbon.
Components of the final peace agreement.
On the basis of the basis of the discussions that have taken place during theses three days and following extensive consultations between the Eminent Kings and people from various strata of Dagomba society between September 2006 and October 2007, the Eminent Kings with the concurrence, agreement and acceptance of the representatives of the parties hereby decide as follows:
A. Context: Over the last four years, we have heard repeated interpretations of Dagbon history from various persons, from within and outside Dagbon. We wish to deplore a situation where regents of the state have directly ascended to the Namship and do hereby encourage the parties to stick to the time tested procedures of having regents learn the art of statecraft before ascending to any of the gate skins. This final peace agreement is designed to assist the people of Dagbon correct the problems that have arisen following violations of their customary procedures. It is our hope that the timely implementations of this final peace agreement will restore Dagbon to the path of rectitude and full compliance with its customs and procedures in relation to chieftaincy succession.
B. .Funeral of Naa Mahamadu Abdulai. Follwing these various presentations, it is our considered opinion that under Dagbon custom, once a Ya Naa dies outside the palace, he is buried where he died and his funeral performed where he died. Several examples of this practice have been cited to us by various persons. Naa Mahamadu Abdulai died outside the palace. His burial should have been where he died. If this had been done, the issue of where his funeral should take place would have been foregone conclusion. The Supreme Court judgment of 1986 conferred the status of a former Ya Naa on Mahamadu Abdulai in recognition of the tradition that deskinment is unknown in Dagbon custom. Naa Yakubu Andani himself appended his signature to the “Reconciliation Agreement” of 1987 which provided that Naa Mahamdu Abdulai should be accorded the status and entitlements of a Ya Naa at death. We conclude that the Supreme Court decision and Naa Yakubu Andani’s consent under the Reconciliation Agreement were to promote peace and reconciliation in Dagbon. It should be noted that under the “Roadmap for Peace” both parties had already agreed that the two funerals should be performed . We therefore conclude that the funeral should take place at the old Gbewaa Palace under certain conditionsspecified inthis agreement.
Source: GhanaWeb
