MY NORTHERN DREAM - SAAKA WRITES...

  

Accept my seasonal greetings and well wishes as we gradually bid farewell to the year of our Lord 2021, the year of many uncertainties and atrocities. Many people are celebrating not because they have acquired lot of wealth not because they have bought new cars or build new houses but because in the eve of a deadly pandemic which has claimed over 5 million lives worldwide yet ours have been spared by the Almighty so you have every right to celebrate and thank Him for such kind gesture. 

It is undoubtedly the season of love and affection where we must share not only with family and friends but with the needy, poor and vulnerable people in the society. In light of this permit me to wish each and everyone well and may the good Lord continue to bless and protect us as we are ushered into 2022 and strive to build a Nation . Amen.

I have a dream hearing this many might have thought is the famous speech by Martin Luther King Jr no is not and by far no where close to it yet is a dream of the North. A Northern dream of Ghana. A dream for a place called North where we call home. As a small boy growing up very passionate about development and changing the narrative at home i begun asking questions on how we can collectively make a change in North to prevent the migration to the Southern part of Ghana by our people in search of greener pastures. 

My first encounter was with Alhaji Kasim a former Banker who was of the view that the Northern problem is not different from the African problem because we are rich yet very poor, we are many yet very few and we are blessed yet very cursed. 

His argument was that take the Northern Region which recently Savannah was created out for example we have about 10 different tribes with different languages, cultures and so on which in it self is a blessing and very unique which is equally the more reason why we see ourselves totally different from each other without common goals to come together and change our destiny’s. 

Well i agree with him to some extend because it is same that often results in conflicts, Chieftaincy disputes land disputes and the rest but should we have seen ourselves as one people and called ourselves Northerners probably such unspeakable conflicts wouldn’t have occurred. If we have seen ourselves as northerners not Gonja’s not Dagomba’s , not Waala’s not Frafra’s not manprusi’s not Busunga’s maybe just maybe our story would have been a little bit different. 

During my days at Tertiary the Waala’s and the Sisaala’s couldn’t find a common ground to form a Union but we had Upper west students Union and Sisaala Students Union my question is who are upper westerners and who are Sisaala’s ? We are all one and that is why the motto reads “Tizaa Buyeni” meaning we are all one people. Likewise we had Gonja’s Students Union, Dagomba’s students Union, Manprusi students Union and so on. Some of these Unions were not effective because of the numbers and lack of commitment yet the Head of Academics Dr Baba Campion in his quest to bring us all together under one umbrella the Northern Students Union failed woefully because we don’t see ourselves us northerners but Gonja’s, Waala’s, Sisaala’s Dagomba’s and so on. Is sad!!

Fast forward, i can’t entirely lay the blame at the door steps of only the youth because even the political story of Ghana will be incomplete and definitely cannot be told without us. We have been privileged to serve as the first, second and third gentlemen of the land but the question it what impact does it have in-terms of eradicating poverty, increasing literacy rates, solving conflicts, Chieftaincy disputes, preventing our young ladies from Kayaayi and others been? The impact is almost to nothing why because we again don’t see ourselves as northerners and the political differences haven’t done us any good either. 

Imagine having a Northern Forum where the former President John Dramani Mahama, the Vice President Alhaji Dr Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia , the speaker of parliament Rt Honorable Alban Sumana Bagbin, minister’s of state from the north, Members of parliament, journalists and all prominent people from the north honoring same and starting a northern development agenda, we would have been far better than we are now i doubt if even Mps from Savannah Region, Northern Region, Upper east Region Upper west Region have such Forums because of political differences not to talk about the President, Vice President and the speaker of parliament. Sorry if am sounding much tribalistic and am not by anyway saying they should use Ghana resources to develop only North. No!! Well we are part of Ghana anyway but they can use their offices to influence the youth, foster unity and bring about change. 

One will say they are not worthy of celebration since they have in a way failed us. Even the northern member of parliament is different from the southern member of parliament. Why because we take our people for granted and know very well that they will vote for us if even we don’t work because they are poor and will fall for rice,magi, cloth, and other basic necessities to vote you back in power. Yes we will but the irony is that you are undermining your own self because you have no home than north and when you die you remains will be brought back and we shall wear the cloth you gave us for vote to drink and cry at your funeral grounds. 

I was in Tamale some few months back and couldn’t just agree with myself how Tamale have been the capital of the Northern region for such a long time yet under develop. Where are our politicians? Where are the big men from our region? Is such a shame. 

On December 2 at the Assemblies of God National Headquarters, Osu Accra i attended the book launch of an astute journalist hail from north Abdul Hayi Moomen and before his 4th reader read his portion he made an appeal haven’t heard the likes of Mahama Ayariga, Mustapha Hamid all been introduced as northerners called on them to come together and help the young ones come up develop and take over from them. He said we must not look at out immediate families or friends but north as a home and that to me was the biggest lesson for that night. 

We can’t continuously fall on NGOs for development. The northern problems needs northern solutions and the northern men and women must take full responsibility and be on the frontline to chant the development agenda of our dear land. Yes we are working but i believe we can do a lot better, in fact our ability is way beyond what we are showing now. 

This in my northern dream, a dream that all northerners are the same, a dream that our northern Politicians can do better, a dream that the northern innocent Kayaayi lady deserves better, a dream that the northern cocoa caretaker deserves better, a dream that the northern security man in Kumasi, Accra deserves better, a dream that there must be a northern forum bringing all of us under one umbrella, a dream that we can solve our conflicts, Chieftaincy disputes and land disputes, a dream than we can eradicate poverty increase literacy rates and find solutions to our problems and a dream that north deserves better and the best they say comes from the north. I HAVE A DREAM AND IS A NORTHERN DREAM.

THIS IS MY DREAM (YEBARIKA)!

WE WRITE TO RIGHT THE WRONGS OF THE SOCIETY. 

Wahidu Saaka 

Saakawahid29@gmail.com 

0540515390.