Tamale, May 8, GNA – The Right Reverend Dr Nathan Iddrisu Samwini, Tamale Diocesan Bishop of the Methodist Church has attributed the myriad political, ethnic and chieftaincy conflicts to the introduction of multiparty democracy.
This, he, said is threatening the peace and unity of the citizens.
He said before the advent of the 1992 Constitution, which gave rise to multiparty democracy, northern Ghana was more relatively peaceful with stable chieftaincy institutions coexisting in a congenial environment.
He said politicians had polarised the system, which must stop for peace and unity to prevail.
Rt Rev Dr Samwini said this in Tamale on Thursday when he addressed the 54th Annual Synod of the Methodist Church on the theme: ‘Witnessing for Christ today: holistic spirituality,’ and was meant to review the work of the mission and to plan for the following year.
He said for several centuries Ghanaians especially people of the north had lived well as clans while chiefs and their sub chiefs sought the welfare of their subjects.
He said the kingmakers always did due diligence in selecting, enskinning chiefs, adding: ‘Democracy perhaps worsened the plight of the people than before. The people are not only divided along partisan lines with opposing chiefs in the same towns and villages but the regions.’
‘I have note with sadness that since the late 1990s, many towns and villages in the north started installing parallel chiefs creating two opposing chiefs in almost every town and village in the Wa Traditional area and I believe that similar cases can be found in the Upper East and the Northern Regions,’ he said.
Rt Rev Dr Samwini therefore appealed to the royal families in the north to come together as a matter of urgency to avert further destruction from the people who are sometimes engineered by partisan politicians.
He said traditional politics is a powerful unifying force of the people and called on royals and chiefs to do everything within their power to work with others to salvage the sinking image of the chieftaincy institution.
He also cautioned politicians to stay away from chieftaincy matters.
Naa Dakpema Dawuni Alhassan, Chief of Tamale said it is important for all in the country to work hard towards building a formidable future for children, which requires peace and unity to prevail.
He said for continuous peace to prevail in the country everybody regardless of religion, ethnic or political affiliation must embrace one another as one people, one nation with a common destiny and commended the Methodist Church for their development interventions especially in the area of education.
GNA