President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has charged the Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, to as a matter of urgency, find solutions to the many long-standing chieftaincy disputes in the country.
Addressing the 62nd Independence Anniversary Parade in Tamale yesterday, the President expressed concern over the many chieftaincy disputes across the country.
He said it was worrying that the chieftaincy institution has generated more disputes than any other sector, hence the need to ensure that sanity prevails in that sector.
“Sadly, chieftaincy has generated more disputes and disharmony than any other institution. The tragedy is that, by chieftaincy’s very nature, only people from the same family can, and do lay claim to the same stool or skin,” he noted.
According to him it’s imperative for the actors in such disputes to get over their petty squabble to pave way for peace, since the very survival of the chieftaincy institution is at risk
“The very survival of the institution is at risk, unless we get over the multiplicity of disputes. For many young people, the pomp and pageantry, which are often all they see, cannot make up for the amount of trouble chieftaincy generates,” he said.
President Akufo Addo observed that when chieftaincy works, it become an embodiment of culture and the rock on which everyone lean for support and resort to in times of trouble.
He said where the chiefs have united their people, and offered forward looking leadership, modernization has been rapid. “Where there has been disunity, the area has lagged behind, and the disputes have been a drain on the public purse.”
“For some young people, the insistence on doing things the same way they have been done, whilst resisting any change, make the institution unattractive. The poverty that bedevils some of our lives can only be defeated and overcome, when we are united and pull together,” he stated.
By Benjamin Nana Appiah/ adrdaily.com
