Kufuor’s gov’t took decisive actions to prevent deepening of Dagbon conflict – World Bank

Former President J.A. Kufuor’s government has been commended for taken decisions that helped to avert a deepening of the crisis between the Abudus and Andanis in the Dagomba clan over the succession rights to the Ya-Na throne.

“The Ghanaian government took decisive action in 2003 to forestall a potentially serious dispute over succession rights between rival Dagomba clans in the north”, the World Bank report titled “World Development Report 2011” which was released early April 2011 indicated.

The report which talks about conflict, security and development, said the government then sought the United Nation’s (UN) help to broker a dialogue among youth, women, and labor leaders and state institutions, including the police and a compromise was devised that included a funeral with full state honors for the slain Andani leader and the nomination of an Andani regent.

“That action defused the potential for violence… An agreed “roadmap” for succession gave both factions a future chance at providing a successor, and the country avoided a major conflict that could have undermined the 2004 national elections”, said the report using Ghana as an example of how to solve conflicts in the world.

The report however described the Dagbon violence as political, local and intergroup conflict.

The report said the conflict had implications on the country since “Ghana’s Vice President was a Dagomba, and the main opposition party had chosen its Vice Presidential candidate from a faction contesting the succession.”

In order to defuse tensions before the next national election, the report said the central government declared a state of emergency in the Dagbon kingdom, and a commission of inquiry established.

“But the commission failed to bring a settlement: its report was rejected by both sides,” the report said.

The report revealed that Ya-Na Andani and 40 of his followers were murdered by the rival Abudu clan.

“The potential for serious violence threatened to emerge in 2002 over the succession to the Dagbon chieftaincy, after the Andani clan chief of the Dagbon ethnic group and 40 of his followers were murdered by the rival Abudu clan”, the report indicated.

By Ekow Quandzie