Dagbon conflict is business for some people – WANEP
The Dagbon Chieftaincy conflict in the Northern Region is now more of a business for some people than a real succession issue, Mr Theophilus Ibrahima Dokurugu, Board Member of West Africa Network for Peace Building – Ghana (WANEP), has said.
Making a presentation at a Peace Reporting workshop for journalists drawn from the three Northern Regions in Tamale on Tuesday, Mr Dokurugu said the Dagbon issue continued to exist because some people were bent on ensuring that it raged on to enable them to continue to exploit it to advance their business interest.
The one-day workshop was organized by the Rural Media Network (RUMNET), a northern Ghana based NGO with the aim to exploring the usage of early warning, and conflict transformation in peace reporting.
It was also to sharpen the skills of journalists on conflict reporting in order to refrain from inflaming or reporting in a manner that fueled violence.
Mr Dokurugu said it was true that the two royal gates had genuine issues that they were pursuing but some persons had made it their occupation to fuel the conflict adding “once the conflict is over, such persons will become paupers” hence their actions to ensure that it raged on.
He said in the olden days too, chieftaincy conflicts erupted but they were resolved by the feuding factions themselves using the traditional structures and wondered why same structures could not be used today to resolve the Dagbon conflict.
Mr Dokurugu, therefore, called on journalists to be circumspect in their reportage on conflicts especially the Dagbon conflict and avoid being influenced by any member of the public to report in a way that would worsen the situation.
He said journalists must frame their stories appropriately and devoid of subjective interpretations which would evoke charged emotional reactions.
He cautioned against writing news stories in a manner that predicted possible outcomes of conflict situations.
He advised journalists to make fairness a guiding principle in their news gathering efforts to ensure that society remained peaceful.
Mr Alhassan Imoru, Media Director of RUMNET, observed that a lot of news stories on conflicts in northern Ghana were either too polished or contained a number of incorrect facts.
Mr Imoru, therefore, called on journalists in the three Northern Regions to do their work with diligence to promote the good of the area.
Source: GNA