The youth of Mamprugu have raised concerns over the decision by the Bolgatanga High Court to issue a bench warrant against the Overlord of Mamprugu, the Nayiri.
The tension between the Mamprugu youth and Government about Government’s disapproval of the enskinment of a new Bawku Naba keeps rising each day as the youth believe government interference is going no good.
A statement signed by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Mamprugu Zaabuni Youth for Development, Mashood Issifu Mahama said the “Mamprugu Youth are yet to come to terms with the issuance of the arrest warrant against no less a person than the revered Overlord of Mamprugu, the Nayiri”.
“We wish to register our displeasure against the development and whoever orchestrated this dastardly act.
The tolerance of the people of Mamprugu and their peace-loving nature has been taken for granted for a very long time and the attempt to arrest the Nayiri in the wee hours of Monday is still a harrowing event in the minds of the good people of Mamprugu”.
According to the youth, even though the Defense Minister denied government’s orchestration and moves to arrest the Nayiri with heavily armed soldiers and four armoured cars, the arrest warrant by the Bolgatanga High Court is evident enough to expose the double talk of the Defense Minister.
“The Defense Minister in a cowardly manner denied the arrest of the Nayiri but said the arrest of the Bawku Naaba is still on the table”, the statement said.
The statement further added that the Youth of Mamprugu wish to register in the strongest terms that we will fight with our last blood to protect and preserve the Bawku Naaba from arrest because his elevation to the Paramount Chief of Bawku is the wish and at the pleasure of Nayiri and to arrest the Bawku Naaba is to arrest the Nayiri.
We are therefore calling on the government to tread cautiously with the Bawku Chieftaincy conflict.
Mamprusis in Bawku have been living there for centuries and are neither visitors nor strangers in Bawku.
Mamprusis are indigenes of Bawku and Kusasis and must therefore learn to co-exist with our brothers who are not asking to rule over Zebila, Garu, and Pusiga among others.
The Youth of Mamprugu will like to reiterate the point that we will rise and go full out if government will continue to point its fingers into our eyes as a Kingdom.
We are also seeking answers from the National House of Chiefs to explain to us how Abugrago got gazetted in the year 2020. What happened to the National House of Chiefs ruling which described Abugrago’s father as a “Commoner”? How does a “commoner” become chief?
“We will like to make it clear to government that there is no kingdom in Ghana older than the Mamprugu Kingdom.
Bawku was founded and named by Mamprusis.
The Nayiri’s traditional jurisdiction extends to some parts of the Upper East Region of Ghana, and as tradition demands, he has equally enskinned Paramount Chiefs in these traditional jurisdictions.
If these facts do not make sense in helping government appreciate why the Nayiri has traditional authority in Bawku, then nothing will ever make sense.
The Nayiri has for the past 40 years managed and contained the Bawku conflict only in Bawku and prevented it from spilling over to the other parts of Mamprugu.
The actions of the President is jeopardizing the lives of innocent Kusaasi living in Mamprugu and the earlier civil society organizations and other institutions speak up about this issue the better.
We further demand the government to with immediate effect withdraw the arrest warrant, as no arrest will be allowed on the soil of Mamprugu.
Government is therefore cautioned against its ignorant interference in the Bawku chieftaincy conflict.
We call on the President and his appointees to make the Supreme Court Verdict available to the Nayiri in their visit to his palace in the coming days as indicated in a phone conversation by the Defense Minister.
Anything short of that will see the wrath of the youth of Mamprugu”, part of the statement said.
