Yendi celebrates Damba festival in peaceYendi celebrates Damba festival in peace

Yendi (N/R), Feb.20, GNA - Mr Bede Ziedeng, the Northern Regional Minister, has appealed to the chiefs and people of Dagbon to use the successful celebration of the Damba festival to bury their differences and let peace prevail in the traditional area.He said the government was on track in prosecuting its development agenda but it could only do that and even double the pace of development in an atmosphere of peace and togetherness.Mr Ziedeng made the appeal in Yendi on Sunday during the celebration of the Damba Festival at the forecourt of the Gbewaa Palace where the people celebrated in unity on the theme: “Honouring our Culture and Traditions, Advancing our Father”.He said a divided home could not be supported in any way and the government needed the support of every Ghanaian to be able to change the living conditions of people in the country.He commended both the Kampakuya Na, regent of Dagbon and the Bolin-Lana for the maturity they displaced so far in ensuring that they resorted to peaceful means and use of dialogue in resolving their differences rather than to violence.He said the peaceful coexistence had enabled the people to enjoy the Damba and advised them to continue to work together for the development of Dagbon for the betterment of the youth.Mr Ziedeng commended the security agencies for their effort and determination to maintain peace in the whole Northern Region and Dagbon in particular.He said the government could not afford to continue to spend scarce resources mainly on conflict resolution when the country needed good roads, good health facilities, quality education, portable water and good sanitation as well as reliable electricity supply. He said he was happy to see chiefs from the Abudu Royal Family at the Damba Festival led by Bolin-Lana Abdulai Mahama and Sunson-Na Shani Amidu II, representatives of Nanton Na among others as well as some youth chiefs who celebrated the Damba together at the Gbewaa Palace.In an address read on his behalf the Regent of Dagbon and Acting President of Dagbon Traditional Council, Kampakuya Na Abdulai Yakubu Andani called on Dagombas not to see themselves as Abudus or Andanis but as a united family from one umbilical cord especially in these trying times for prosperity, development and peace. The Kampakuya Na Yakubu Andani said, “Never again shall the world associate Dagbon with division, intolerance, violence and lack of progress”, adding that the major common enemy they faced was poverty, environmental change, and unfavorable market forces.He said all over the world sons of Dagbon were making great strides and suggested that those who made great achievements must be honoured and celebrated to inspire others to work hard. He said those who abandoned Dagbon needed to come back home and build on the foundations their fathers left for them as means of contributing in growing a strong successful nation, which they would bequeath to the younger generation.GNA Read Full Story