The Catholic Bishop of Yendi, Vincent Sowah Boi-Nai, has appealed to stakeholders in the Dagbon peace process have to go beyond the Andani and Abudu divide and stress more on unity and peace in the troubled kingdom.
According to him, for peace to prevail, justice must be served but stressed that the �justice they are looking at must be more restorative than retributive so that lasting peace can prevail.�
Bishop Sowah Boi-Nai was delivering a keynote address during a workshop on peace building in Dagbon organized by Yendi Peace Centre for a cross section of Yendi youth in the Yendi Municipality of the Northern Region.
He indicated that the objective of the workshop was for them to put their heads together in discussing issues that will unite the people of the area more than what will divide them.
The Catholic Bishop reminded them that the Government is spending huge sums of money on Dagbon chieftaincy issue which should have been used for development. Bishop Sowah Boi-Nai indicated that people have suffered for far too long as a result of the crisis saying, marriages have broken down, people lost their jobs, lives have been lost among others.
He called on the Youth of Dagbon to encourage their elders and the chiefs to �relax their entrenched positions a bit so that as to find lasting solution to the Dagbon problem�. According to him, the Dagbon kingdom is rich in tradition, custom and cultural values and there is the need for the Youth of Dagbon their chiefs and elders to do all they can to preserve the cultural heritage entrusted to them by their ancestors.
Touching on election 2012, Bishop Sowah Boi-Nai advised the youth not to allow politicians to influence them with money to cause troubles during the polls for their political gains.
Mr Peter Atia, Secretary of the Yendi Peace Centre, said that since the Centre was inaugurated in 2006, they have organized 85 meetings, workshops, seminars among others in finding peace in Dagbon. He said the Centre aims at involving all peace loving people in the peace process in Yendi as well as Dagbon for the swift development of the area.
Mr Atia appealed to the people of Dagbon to use dialogue as well as restorative justice to solve their differences for the sake of future generations. He stated that the centre does not involve in the peoples traditions but rather advise them to be fair and just as o maintain dignity culture of theirs.
During an open forum, the participants from Kuga, Kpatia, Nayilifong, Balogu, Kumfong Zohe and members of People National Convention, New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress indicated that until the funerals of died chiefs of Dagbon are performed and a Ya-Na is enskined there can never be peace in Dagbon.
They said lack of jobs for the youth of Dagbon makes them vulnerable which politicians gleefully lure to cause problems with money. The people lamented that much more money was being channeled into security instead of education and that was worrying.
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