Dagbon youth protest addition of Chereponi to North East Region

Hundreds of youth of the Dagbon Traditional Area in the Northern Region yesterday poured onto the streets of Tamale to protest the inclusion of the Chereponi District in the proposed North East Region.

Clad in red attire and armbands, the youth marched through some principal streets of the metropolis with placards, some of which read: " Dagbon is united against the dismembering of Chereponi" and "Chereponi is Dagbon".

The protest march followed an October 16, 2018 meeting at the Northern Regional House of Chiefs, during which the Paramount Chief of Mamprugu, Naa Bohagu Abdulai Mahama Sheriga, made a request for the inclusion of Chereponi in the proposed North East Region.

Naa Sheriga explained that the addition was only for administrative purposes and that Chereponi would still pay homage to Dagbon.

Reaction

However, the Spokesperson for the Dagbon youth, Mr Mubarak Osman, told journalists that the request by the Nayiri was not accepted by the Dagbon Traditional Council (DTC) at the council’s meeting in Yendi recently.

According to the spokesperson, the youth did not have the assurance of the Nayiri that Chereponi would still be under the jurisdiction of Dagbon.

"When the Upper East Region was created, Mamprugu released some of its lands to help in the creation of the region but now Mamprugu has no hold on those lands," Mr Osman claimed.

He indicated that "as an ethnic group, we are not against the creation of the North East Region but we are strongly against the inclusion of Chereponi, which is part of the Dagbon
Traditional Area", adding that "if this demarcation should continue, it will bring tension in the two regions”.

Issues

Since the announcement of the creation of the proposed regions by the Commission of Enquiry, Dagbon chiefs, including those in Chereponi, have raised issues with the inclusion of Chereponi in the proposed North East Region.

The assumption is that separating Chereponi from the Northern Region would mean that the chiefs and the people of Chereponi would now pay allegiance to the Nayiri.

Chereponi is part of the Dagbon Traditional Area that is located in the northeastern part of the Northern Region close to the Togo border.