Please be the King Solomon that you are; NDC guru pleads with Asantehene

Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II A leading member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Victor Adawudu, has made a passionate appeal to the Asantehene to bring to bear the wisdom that he is noted for in mediating the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute. He said Otumfuo Osei Tutu II should be kind hearted enough to ignore attempts by the Abudu Gate of the chieftaincy divide to call his credibility into question. The NDC guru was speaking on Joy FM’s News analysis programme, Newfile, Saturday, in reaction to an earlier declaration by the Abudu Royal Family that it was pulling out of the peace talks led by the Asantehene because it had lost confidence in Otumfuo as an honest peace broker. The Spokesperson of the Abudus, Dr Ziblim Iddi had said their rival faction, the Andani gate had violated a roadmap to peace designed by the committee of eminent chiefs led by the Asantehene. He said although Otumfuo’s attention was drawn to those violations, he never acted on the complaints and that on that score the Abudus were no longer going to submit to the mediation process. But Mr Adawudu said the Asantehene “should have the patience of Job as said in the Bible, to handle this issue. He is the only one we have hope in. We have hope in our traditional elders.” He similarly appealed to the Abudus to rescind their decision and return to the mediation table for that was the only to resolve the age old dispute which was draining the nation. Mr Adawudu regretted what he said was a case in which an Abudu could not marry an Andani because of this fratricidal conflict. The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Malik Kweku Baako, who was also on the panel, said the politicization of the dispute made it even more intractable. He said it was naïve for anyone to think that the one-sided criminal prosecution of members of the Abudu gate by the government will not negatively impact on the traditional processes to resolve the matter. In his opinion, the prosecution was a strategic miscalculation informed by the government’s failure to endure the pressure piled on it. Mr Baako believes the better option for the government would have been to abide by its manifesto promise of setting up a presidential commission to look into the murder of the late Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II. Meanwhile the Spokesperson for the Abudus in the Upper East Region, Karim Ahmed has clarified that the Abudus did seek to undermine to the person of the Asantehene. He said the Abudu Royal family was concerned about the committee of eminent chiefs’ failure to enforce their own roadmap to peace. Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana