From Edmond Gyebi, Buipe.
AT LONG Last, the Chiefs and people of Buipe Traditional Area have staged a very peaceful, colourful and mammoth 2014 Damba Festival, which was fully attended by the leaders and supporters of all the feuding factions in the Buipe Chieftaincy divide.
This is the first time in four years that the Chief and people of Buipe are celebrating the annual Damba Festival, after the infamous Buipe Chieftaincy dispute which led to the destruction of properties and loss of human lives.
Buipe came under serious tension after the creation of a parallel authority in Buipe by the Overlord of Gonja Traditional Area, Yagbonwura Tuntumba Bore Essah I, between the Royal Jinapor and the Awushie families.
Buipewura Jinapor II was reported to have verbally assaulted the members of the Traditional Council during an argument in one of the Gonja Traditional Council meetings at the Yagbonwura’s Palace in Damango.
He was, therefore, ‘dis-enskinned’ by the Yagbonwura for the alleged misconduct, and his main rival from the Awushie family, Bawa Awushie Jewu who keenly contested him for the Buipe skin was subsequently appointed as the chief of Buipe by the Traditional Council.
This action by the Gonja Traditional Council created serious tension in the area between the supporters of the two chiefs.
Buipewura Mahama Jinapor in ensuring peace and order in the area sent the matter to the Northern Regional House of Chiefs and subsequently to the Supreme Court for redress, where he was declared the legitimate Chief of Buipe and later reinstated.
After the declaration by the Supreme Court, Buipewura Mahama Jinapor II initiated a move and succeeded in settling the protracted chieftaincy dispute that existed between him and his rival chief, Bawa Awushie Jewu.
The peace initiative did not only bring the people together, but also saw Bawa Awushie Jewu being enskinned as “Danyampewura”, who now sits at the right hand of Buipewura in his cabinet.
It came, therefore, as no surprise when the 2014 Annual Damba Festival was celebrated for the first time in four years by the chiefs and people of Buipe Traditional Area in a memorable style.
The festival, which was presided over by the paramount chief, Buipewura Mahama Jinapor II, was attended by all the leaders and supporters of the royal gates in Buipe, who previously did not see eye-to-eye.
The festival was under the theme: ‘Peace and Reconciliation for sustainable Development’, and attracted people from all walks of life, who were adorned in their colourful Gonja smocks, of varying designs and sizes, as they danced to typical traditional Damba beat from the gong-gong and ‘gonje’ strings.
The festival, which marks the birth of the Holy Prophet Mohammed, was commenced with special Muslim prayers, popularly known as ‘Adua’.
It was not only meant to ask for God’s blessings and protection for the Chiefs, the people and the nation at large, but to also take stock of the years gone past and project into the years ahead.
Animals were also slaughtered and the blood used for special sacrifices to God Almighty for his abundant grace and protection. The meat of the animal was used to prepare special local delicacies and shared among the various ethnic groups in the area, who danced around the food several times to demonstrate their joy on the occasion.
The sharing of the food was led by the Chief Linguist to the Buipewura, who called each of the ethnic groups by name and shared the food in an orderly manner.
There were several other activities, including the ‘picking of the rice’ and a football gala competition organized for 16 local teams representing the various ethnic groups in the Buipe traditional area.
The game, which was meant to further solidify the peace and unity in Buipe, was won by Gedeme FC from Buipe, who took home GH¢1,000 and set of jerseys, footballs and a trophy.
The 2nd placed team, AC Milan from the Black Volta area received an amount of GH¢700, set of jerseys and footballs, with the 3rd team Liverpool FC also taking home GH¢500 and set of jerseys and footballs.
The grand durbar to climax the festival was a colourful and historic occasion, as it was witnessed by Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, Ambassador designate Moses Bukari Mabengba, who is also a former Northern region Minister, District Chief Executives, Political Party leaders and traditional leaders from other parts of Ghana, who were greeted with the beautiful damba dance.
In a welcome address read for him by his spokesperson, Dr. Ahmed Jinapor, Buipewura Mahama Jinapor II described the 2014 Famba Festival as memorable one, since it marked his fifth anniversary on the Buipe Skin.
He expressed joy about the success and peaceful celebration of the event, which showcased the tradition and custom of Gonjaland, as well as the throbbing display of musketry, which is very symbolic of the festival.
The Buipewura commended all those who participated in the struggle for peace in the Buipe area, particularly President John Dramani Mahama, the Yagbonwura, Tuntumba Bore Essah I, the former Northern Regional Minister, Moses Bukari Mabengba and the security officials.
The Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji A.B.A. Fuseini on behalf of the Northern Regional Minister, Bede Ziedeng, commended the Buipewura for his vision to bring all sons and daughters of Buipe together to bury their differences, reconcile and celebrate the Damba Festival in unism.
He was confident that with the existing peace in Buipe, development was not far from coming to the area.
The Minister who assured the people of government’s commitment to turn Buipe into a leading commercial center in the region, appealed to local and foreign investors to relocate to Buipe where arable lands abound.
The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mr. Nayoon Bilijo appealed to investors to venture into the aquaculture sector and take advantage of the huge potentials that existed in Buipe to develop and expand their businesses.
He said the area had arable and suitable land for fish farming with an all year- round source of water and that its location at the centre of the country and the motorable nature of the road was an added advantage for aquaculture development for wealth creation.
The Minister cautioned the fishermen in the area to desist from using illegal means especially the use of dynamite and other chemicals for fishing.


Minister-for-Fisheries-Hon-Nayoon-Blijo

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Deputy-Northern-Regional-Minister-Alhaji-A.B.A-Fuseini.

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