Tamale Center For National Culture In A Deplorable State

Tourism Minister, Ms. Elisabeth Agyare

Ghana is said to be among the few African countries in the sub-region with many ethnic groupings but with diverse cultures and traditions ranging from marriage, naming ceremony, funeral performance, festival among others.

These cultural differences are what make Ghana stand out as a unique country for many European and American nationals to visit for holidays, honeymoon and conferences. 

Some of the few places where these diverse cultures of Ghanaians are promoted or showcased to indigenes and most especially foreigners are their many Centres for National Culture (CNC) and the National Theatre.

In each of the ten administrative regions of Ghana, there is a CNC for people to visit on daily basis to listen to traditional music and storytelling, watch performances of traditional dancers, drama and also buy artifacts to decorate their homes and offices.

Sadly, due to lack of adequate renovation over the years, some of these centres like the Tamale Centre for National Culture built in the 60’s, is beginning to look very deplorable and unattractive to visitors.

Malfunctioning air conditioners and ceiling fans, filthy washrooms, dilapidated theatre, leaking roofings, insanitary premises, broken furniture and poor drainage systems among others, stare at the face of any first time visitor to the Tamale CNC.

Besides, the facility is poorly resourced and the few office equipment available for administrative purposes are also obsolete and malfunctioning most of the time. 

According to the Administrator of the Centre Abubakari Saeed, although the Centre had few sources of revenue generation, the amount of funds generated was inadequate to be used to renovate the place and buy the necessary equipment needed to enable the facility fully functional.

Mr. Saeed appealed to the Northern Region House of Chiefs and other proponents of northern culture and tradition to use their influence to prevail on government to restore the place to enable it function well.

He observed that, the Centre was part and parcel of the cultures and traditions of the chiefs  and they would not be promoted enough if the Centre was left to deteriorate to levels where it had to be closed down completely.

Adding his voice to the call, an ardent advocate of Ghanaian culture and former Governing Council Chairman of the University for Development Studies (UDS), Dr. Abdulai Baba Salifu, said if urgent steps were not taken, the Centre was likely to be closed down.

He observed that, the current state of the Centre was not befitting the status of any traditional ruler in the Northern Region and wonder if people especially foreigners would continue to patronize services there in few years to come.

Over 300 Basic Schools In Tamale Need Classroom Furniture

Alhaji Mohammed Haroun, N/R Dir. GES

Three hundred and sixty-two (362) basic schools in Tamale, the Northern Regional capital of Ghana, currently need over eleven thousand classroom furniture, Metropolitan Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES) Mohammed Saani has revealed.

Aside the problem of inadequate classroom furniture, many of the schools in the metropolis, he said, also lacked textbooks, to the extent that in most schools the ratio was 2 or 3 pupils to a textbook.

In an interview with Savannahnews shortly after the reconstructed Queen Elisabeth School was handed over to him by the legislator for Tamale Central Constituency, Mr. Saani partly blamed the situation on churches taking over schools in the city as venue for their religious activities.

“Aside the fact that some of the furniture are too old and easily breakdown very often, the pressure on them is too much. This is because, a lot of churches hold services in many of the schools and they use these furniture”, he alleged. 

He further cited too much congestion in most basic schools located within the city saying “there are classrooms with about 50 to 80 pupils and this can also put too much pressure on  schools’ resources such as furniture and teaching and learning materials”, Mr. Saani indicated.

Picture from file                                                                                                      

The GES Director, Mr. Mohammed Saani, therefore, appealed to government and the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly to urgently step in to provide the schools with new furniture. 

Built in the early 1960s for children of medical doctors and other health personnel, the Queen Elisabeth School ran only a kindergarten school system until 2012 when the legislator for the Tamale Central Constituency Mal Zali Naa Alhaji Abdulai Inusah Fuseini decided to reconstruct it to add more classrooms and auxiliary facilities.

Currently, the school now run kindergarten in addition to a primary school system. With the support of the Ghana Education Trust Fund, a one-storey building was put up to replace the old school building which was built in 1963. The new building also has facilities such as a playing centre and a well-stocked library.

The legislator who is also Minister of Roads and Highways, challenged his constituents particularly parents to make deliberate investments towards their children’s education now and in the future. He promised to also continue to provide them with support and opportunities to complement their efforts in trying to provide education for their children.

Final Funeral Rites Of Two Dagbon Kings To Be Performed In November

Northern Regional Minister

Tentatively, government is considering the ending of November 2015 as the date set to perform the final funeral rites of two kings of the Dagbon Kingdom, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, Northern Regional Minister has announced.

At a meeting of the Northern Region House of Chiefs in Tamale, Alhaji Limuna disclosed that, government was also ready to foot every bill associated with the planning and organisation of the funerals of the two prominent kings; Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II (Andani Gate) and Naa Mahamadu Abdulai (Abudu Gate).

“You should not worry about where invited guest will sleep.....what they will eat or drink. Government has decided to take over all expenses and costs of the two funerals. That is what government is interested in....ensuring that the funerals are performed in order for lasting peace to prevail. As for the installation of a new Ya-Na, that will be decided by the traditional people. Government has no hand in any installation or who to become the next Ya-Na”, he stressed. 

He also decried the increasing bloody conflicts in many parts of the region and urged the chiefs and various ethnic groups in the region to show deep concern about renewing conflicts. “It is only the people of the various communities who can solve the problems we are faced with”, he noted.

The Northern Region, according to Alhaji Limuna, used to be one of the most peaceful regions in the country but unfortunately, it could not claim any dignified position at the national level due to the numerous conflicts it was currently faced with.

Currently, there are five curfews in the whole of Ghana. Out of these five curfews, four are in the Northern Region alone. They are Gushiegu, Nankpanduri, Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo and Bimbilla. The fifth one is in Alavanyo in the Volta Region.

Nayiri Na Bohagu Sheriga

Alhaji Limuna also appealed to members of the House to show concern in a seemingly unending culture that was taking away the dignity and pride of many young girls. “...as custodians of our culture and tradition, I wish to draw your attention to one of the cultural practices which is inimical to the total development of our people; that is force or child marriage”, he stated.

“The state places a lot of pride on girl-child education to enhance gender equality and it is the duty of chiefs and government to ensure that the girl-child is not forced into marriage to the detriment of her education”, he maintained.

President of the Northern Region House of Chiefs and Overlord of the Mamprugu Kingdom Na Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, also called on all members of the House to support the police to nib in the bud, increasing menace of money rituals popularly known as sakawa, in the Tamale Metropolis.

Whilst encouraging the police and other security agencies to be fair and firm in dealing with crimes similar to the Bimbilla situation, Na Sheriga condemned in no uncertain terms, the attitude of people resorting to violence anytime they had disagreements.

About 12 lives were lost following a bloody clash in Bimblla recently. Eight (8) persons including the Registrar of the Northern Region House of Chiefs were arrested and charged by the police. But the President of the House said his officer was a victim of circumstance and should be granted bail.

Meanwhile, Members of the Northern Regional Peace Council led by their Chairman Most Reverend Philip Naameh, urged citizens to make use of dialogue and all the dispute resolution mechanisms offered by the state to seek redress for any dispute.

Most Rev. Naameh who is also the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Tamale Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, said the region had more than 20 active conflicts. “Though some of these conflicts are political in nature, a significant majority of them relate to issues of land and resources, ethnicity and chieftaincy”, he pointed out.

Northern Chiefs Urged To Take A Stand As Govt Decides To Create New Universities From UDS

Dr Abdulai Baba Salifu

The immediate past Governing Council Chairman of the University for Development Studies (UDS) Dr. Abdulai Baba Salifu, has urged members of the Northern Region House of Chiefs to take a stand on government’s decision to convert the Navrongo and Wa Campuses of the University into autonomous universities.

The ruling government led by President John Dramani Mahama has made it a policy to establish a university for each of the ten administrative regions of Ghana. The latest on the drawing board is the proposed establishment of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Plans are far advanced for a ground breaking ceremony to pave way for construction to begin.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions of Ghana, each have a campus of the UDS situated at Wa, Navrongo, Tamale and Nyankpala. This was probably a deliberate decision by the government of Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings who in 1992 established the UDS. 

The UDS started at Nyankpala in the Northern Region, and later established a campus at Navrongo in the Upper East Region. This was followed by the Wa campus and the latest being the Tamale campus.

Addressing the House of Chiefs, Dr. Salifu argued that, any attempt to convert the Wa and the Navrongo campuses of the UDS, would affect the law establishing it. “The law will change....the vision of the university will also change and even certain courses will not be allowed to run by the university”, he stated.

Dr. Salifu who is also the immediate past Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), appealed to the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Region Houses of Chiefs to take keen interest in the desire by government to decouple the Wa and Navrongo campuses of the UDS and make them autonomous universities.

He suggested government allowed the UDS to remain the way it was and resource it to establish more campuses in addition to the existing four campuses. Apart from that, he said government could also decide to establish totally new universities in the Upper West and Upper East Regions. 

A member of the Northern Region House of Chiefs Kumbun-Naa Alhaji Iddrisu Abu commended Dr. Abdulai Baba Salifu for drawing the attention of members of the House to the development surrounding the UDS.

He urged the House to deliberate seriously on the matter and pass a resolution on it. He emphasised that, as traditional leaders and key stakeholders in development, all chiefs ought to have a say regarding government’s decision to do what it intended to do with the UDS.

Established in May 1992 by the Government of Ghana, the UDS exist to blend the academic world with that of the community in order to provide constructive interaction between the two for the total development of Northern Ghana, in particular, and the country as a whole. 

It began academic work in September 1993 with the admission of thirty-nine (39) students into the Faculty of Agriculture (FOA), Nyankpala campus. The Faculty of Integrated Development Studies, (FIDS), Faculty of Planning and Land Management (FPLM) and Faculty of Education (FOE), Wa, School of Business, Wa, School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), Tamale, Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources (FRNR), Nyankpala, Faculty of Applied Sciences (FAS), Faculty of Mathematical Sciences (FMS), Navrongo and the Graduate School now in Tamale were phased in from 1994 to date.

UDS is unique compared to other public universities considering its location and multi campuses which are spread out in rural Northern Ghana where the incidence and depth of poverty is high. The UDS has four (4) campuses, seven (7) Faculties, a Business School, one Medical School, one Graduate School and three (3) centres. Several programs are run at these places.