By Peter Agengre
Absolute peace has returned to Doba and Kandiga in the Kasena Nankana West District in the Upper East Region. They are culturally and historically one people with a common ancestor. They now eat, drink, plan, and do business together. Their children study together, and they have teamed up to fight poverty and disease in the two sister communities.
At the recently held blood cleansing ceremony, the people demonstrated the need to allow peace to dwell among them. Chiefs and Queen mothers, the youth, various religious denominations, security and government officials, among others, all shared the happy moment with some skillful dance from the Sirigu Catholic Church choir.
But according to the Paramount Chief of Sirigu, Naba Atogumdeya Akwara II, the people need some basic amenities to get back to life. According to him, the yearlong conflict has left the area underdeveloped and therefore needs the intervention of government to restore some hope and life in the people.
“When you greet somebody in this area good morning, the response from that person is; I haven’t gotten food to eat but if I get I will eat. Climate change and environmental scarcity has worsened the poverty situation in the area. Kandiga and Doba now need food, shelter, water, health facilities and good roads to enjoy their peace if only government wants to sustain this peace,” Naba Atogumdeya announced.
The two communities became popular for the bad reason a decade ago following a dispute over a piece of land. Different governments have therefore invested lots of resources in taking care of the police and military to maintain peace in the area. However, the people are friendly and hardworking by nature. They have produced responsible citizens who are contributing their quota to national development and are therefore concerned about their roads and health facilities, among other amenities.