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Tamale, Ghana – It appears the controversy and conspiracy surrounding the killing of four persons at Najong number one on December 10, 2017 on a busy market day will not go away anytime soon unless and until the perpetrators of the act who are alleged to come from the clan of the Member of Parliament for Bunkpurugu Constituency and Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Solomon Boar, are arrested and prosecuted for the heinous crime.
Although the Member of Parliament has continuously denied any involvement in the killing of the four persons and injuring of scores of other people including women, elders of the Bauk Clan strongly feel that he has a hand in the whole act because of his lack of show of interest in ensuring that the perpetrators who are walking about are arrested by the police.
In another statement issued to the media by leading members of the Bauk Clan on Friday April 13, 2018, they said “The Member of Parliament has demonstrated insensitivity to the loss of human lives in the cowardly attack and rather chose to attack elders and personalities of Bauk who have worked hard to achieve a lot for Bimobaland. Denigrating such important personalities and sons of Bauk was a low point and unbefitting of the office of an MP and a public office holder whose survival depends on the sweat of Ghanaians including the denigrated elders”.
Below is the full statement:
RE- MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR BUNKPURUGU CONSTITUENCY & DEPUTY MINISTER FOR NORTHERN REGION CAUTIONS THE BAUK CLAN IN THE BUNKPURUGU-NAKPANDURI DISTRICT NOT TO INFLAME TENSION WITH FALSE ALLEGATIONS CONCERNING THE SENSELESS SHOOTING INCIDENT IN NAJONG NO 1 ON THE 10TH OF DECEMBER 2017.
DATE: 14TH APRIL, 2018
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, on the 10th of Dec. 2017, there was this vicious and callous attack on market traders in Najong No.1. which left four people dead and several others wounded. Women and children also suffered casualties as it was on a market day. The assailants had carefully chosen their target and exerted maximum pain.
Two weeks after the incident, with no arrest or any signs thereof, Najong No. 1. Elders (NNE) held a press conference in Tamale where a number of issues were raised including the inaction of the Deputy Northern Regional Minister and Member of Parliament for the Bunkpurugu Constituency, Mr Solomon N. Boar.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, on the 3rd of January, 2018, The Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Hon. Solomon N. Boar authored a press release in response to the press conference organized by elders of the Bauk Clan on the 21st of December 2017, in connection with the shooting incident at Najong No.1. in the Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri District. The MP and deputy Minister in his release lost the opportunity to redeem his image and prove himself worthy of the high office he occupies to exonerate himself of any blame by proceeding to set his own questions and answer them.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bauk Clan wishes to state without any shred of doubt that we stand by our press conference authored on the 21st December, 2017 and the issues raised, which still beg for answers.
The Member of Parliament has demonstrated insensitivity to the loss of human lives in the cowardly attack and rather chose to attack elders and personalities of Bauk who have worked hard to achieve a lot for Bimobaland. Denigrating such important personalities and sons of Bauk was a low point and unbefitting of the office of an MP and a public office holder whose survival depends on the sweat of Ghanaians including the denigrated elders.
. We state clearly that at no point in our statement or press conference did we talk about drilling of a bore hole in Sambiruk. It is a fact that when the borehole drillers arrived at Sayoo, they were threatened by our next door neighbours. Therefore the drilling crew withdrew for fear of their lives. So the matter of boreholes in Sambiruk and Najong No.1 is unrelated and insignificant to talk about. Therefore, the MP’s response is a cheap way of diverting attention and covering up the important issues. This clearly shows that he is a leader whose appreciation of the geography of his constituency is weak. Hon. MP what has happened to the borehole meant for Bauk Sayoo? Well, we thank God that lasting peace has returned to the area and we expect the drilling exercise to continue more especially as you are now an MP whose party is in power.
On the issue of polling station, we were clear in our presentation and mentioned the Bauk side of Sayoo and not Sambiruk .The concern was raised because Sayoo is a different community from Sambiruk. But for mischief, the MP deliberately used the two communities as one and the same to confuse the reading public. The fact however remains; both Sambiruk and Sayoo are inhabited by the Bauk Clan. His claim that because of insecurity he did not go to Sayoo to campaign is a sure way of disenfranchising some Ghanaians.
• The Clan is saddened, confused and disappointed in the MP and Deputy Regional Minister’s attempt to impugn political motives in a genuine cry for help in this senseless killing of innocent energetic men in Najong No.1. The press conference was called after days of inaction by government and security agencies on the worsening insecurity in the area. We did that as a Family, a Community and a Clan and not a Political Party as portrayed by the MP and his cohorts. It’s therefore shameful that an MP will reduce a conflict that has roots in Traditional and Land Ownership to Politics and ‘’Politricks’’.
As a politician, the MP should keep himself abreast with the fact that the Bauk people contributed significant number of votes to ensure his victory. In fact, he garnered more votes from the Bauk side of the divide than the votes he got from his kinsmen in Sayoo.
We however want to thank the MP for waking us up to the realities of his unrepentant resolve to remain a kingpin of socio-economic development, love for peace and respect for his kinsmen and chose to comfortably insult and describe elders and leaders of the Bauk Clan in unprintable words.
• On the issue of provision of electricity the MP has suddenly lost memory of the fact that the incident happened in 2014 and not 2017. It is worth mentioning that he has been MP for the area since 2013. It appears the MP did not carefully study our press statement before responding. We still yearn for electricity at Bauk side of Sayoo.
• On Road Blocks and Closure of the Basic School at the Bauk side of Sayoo, there are countless petitions and reports to DISEC, the Joint Peace Committee and some prominent Chiefs in the area. Therefore as an Ex-officio member of the Bunkpurugu District Assembly; he ought to have known better. His response has rather exposed him as either pretending or he does not visit his constituents. As a legislator, an urgent question on the closure of the School on the Bauk side of Sayoo to the Minister of Education would have been appropriate. But what do we see? The MP does not see any urgency in filing a motion on the floor of parliament on the issue yet he claims to represent his constituents who are denied the right to education in this 21st century. This is a fundamental human right. Is it not?
CONCLUSION
We want to conclude by thanking the government, security agencies and other peace loving institutions for bringing peace to the area. We shall continue to plead with security personnel to act with dispatch to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crimes against us to book. We want to assure the security personnel of our full support and cooperation in on-going investigations. The youth will continue to remain sane to allow the law to take its course.
The silence of the security in connection with the young man who made confession in Najong No 1, by mentioning names of the perpetrators of the barbaric act is giving us worry. The young man made this confession in the presence of close relatives of the four gentlemen who were killed in that incident. The young man by now would have been a dead man but the people took him without any harm to the security expecting the law to work.
To the MP, we humbly expect appropriate answers to the questions asked in our press statement of December 21st, 2017. Those questions are still relevant.
Finally, there is a saying that If you are emotionally attached to your tribe, religion or political leaning to the point that truth and justice become secondary considerations, your education is useless, your exposure is useless. If you cannot reason beyond petty sentiments and tribal attachment, you are a liability to mankind. A word to the wise………..
Thank You
Signed:
MR. JARIK SIMON BIIGAAR
(ASSEMBLYMAN)
0209842196/0540718550
CHAMBA CHIMBUR TANA
( NACHIN NAA)
0508469414
By Savannahnewsonline.com
