The chief of Kotintaabig, a community under the Sakote Traditional Council in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region, Naba Bilheesong Lagwongt has cautioned his colleague chiefs from succumbing or kowtowing to the whims and caprices of politicians.
He said when chiefs, revered for being custodians of customs and lobbyists for development in the areas in which they rule, co-mingle with politicians and begin to become extensions of the politicians, they [the chiefs] are only setting themselves up for failure.
Speaking in a recent interview with A1 Radio in Kotintaabig, Naba Lagwongt explained that until such a time when chiefs are able to stand firm and neutral in the time of deep political polarization, they would continue to be used for whimsical political desire and would be eventually shunned after their use to the politician has run out.
“Do not get yourselves involved in political affiliations. Some of the chiefs, excuse me to say, find themselves politically affiliated. The moment you do that, the politicians would use you and drop you like a ball.”
“The respect you would have gotten [as a chief], excuse me to say, would not be there,” he said.
The Chief of Kotintaabig also encouraged traditional leaders to be firm and yet fair in the adjudication of contentious matters brought to their palaces for reconciliation.
He said if chiefs are known to be fair in the judgements they pass down, they will regain the lost confidence, trust and belief in the traditional systems.
The chief of Kotintaabig said this when he spoke in an exclusive interview with A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show at his residence in Kontitaabig in the Nabdam District Friday, June 24, 2022.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
