Chieftancy, Youth & leadership in the development of the Sisaaland. A paradigm shift

Man is the master of his own destiny. The trajectory that a group of people or a society takes is heavily contingent not only on leadership but the attitude, principles and practices that these group of people or society uphold. It is what determines and guides their sense of direction and development. It is no secret that societies have adopted several strategies, tactics and means to achieve set targets to Foster their developments. The Sissala-Land is no different.

Ancient Spartans believed in strength, so they made an army out of an entire nation. That is how they survived. Romans- democracy, 19th century Europe used colonialism,  now the west employs Neo-Colonialism as a tool to keep Africa at bay so they can syphone its resources. The African and for that matter the Sisaalas used chieftancy and communalism. Though guite ineffective, I stand corrected, I feel there’s a sense of re-enactment or “sankofa” at play here. The Sisaalas seems to have found a renewed sense of urgency and prominence in the adoption of their culture in regards of all that we are made up of as a people.

Chieftancy, this revered institution or office has served its purpose before and can serve its purpose again. The once sacred institution of chieftancy was the rallying point for every thing including but not limited to health, tradition, agriculture etc The current trend of the Youth occupying such high and revered office has awakened a new sense of purpose and vision that can be used for the good of the people. The role of chiefs as agents of change can not be over emphasised. Regardless of what politics has done to cripple this once powerful institution, I think that it still holds the power and reverence that it used to have if the occupants command it. Recently, some brilliant, energetic and enthusiastic youth have ascended the office of chieftancy in the various chiefdoms in the Sisaala land ranging from paramount chiefs to small chiefs. Their rise to occupy those positions has brought some renewed lovechild, strength and meaning to this office which hitherto was absent. This is a great opportunity to rally the people to attract and make the neccessary change as well as bring the neccessary development to the Sisaala area. Some occupants of the powerful office include the Paramount chief of the Pulima trading area, Kandia Chief, paramount chief of the Zini traditional area etc if they pull themselves together, no president nor political party can escape their grips. I call on our revered hitherto political and religious leaders to harness the power of their office and bring about the neccessary Change to the discerning people of the Sisaala land which has long eluded its people. We have lost faith in politics, its time for the chiefs to take center stage and command the force they used to so that issues like the indiscriminate depletion of the vegetation could be stopped without having to wait for Central government or a political representative.

The Youth- just like the soldier is powerless without his gun, so is the chieftancy, political party, or any institution for that matter without the youth. The youth is and will always be the engine of any nations development. The youth but only needs direction and a sense of purpose or mission. The rest they say is history. When the youth of a nation are hardworking, it shows in their production. When they youth are ar longer heads then the nation is turmoil.

The chiefs can function if they stopped being greedy and harnessed the power of the youth to fulfil their mandate and create a better society for their subjects. They must also invest in the youth and create an enabling environment  for the youth to thrive. The chiefs have the power to retain the workforce of their kingdoms. We have many a brilliant human resource who have been allowed to slip through our fingers to other peoples kingdoms serving their purpose and bringing about change in another person’s society while ours suffer. It is prominent that the youth are given much attention & a sense of direction or something worth fighting for besides politics.

Leadership has become a hot area of research recently that is receiving alot of attention. The foremost ingredient required for success is a strong leader with a strong sense of direction and not one whose only concern is to enjoy the booties of office and plan his retirement at the expense of his subjects or forgetting his mandate as a leader. Leadership is needed badly in the Sisaala land. I’m elated to realise that most of the occupants of the skins in the Sisaala land are youth with integrity and vision.

It is time to expose ” your iron hand in your velvet cloth” to solve the perennial issues reducing the life span of your subjects. Else there will soon be occupants of meaningless skins.

I welcome the paradigm shift in our local traditional leadership. I call on our traditonal leaders to employ context, the abundant wit they posses, technology, innovation and selfless leadership at beginning our journey to the Utopia we all dream off. While at that they must learn to carry us along as I propose this tripartite agents led by the chiefs is the sure way to the Sisaala development agenda.

This paradigm shift is a shift in the right direction and I encourage all the other kingdoms within the Sisaala land to pass traditional leadership on to the energetic youth for it is the way to go. They say that, “the anger of the penis can not rapture the vagina”. I say that the anger of the chiefs & the youth at the agents that do wrong to our lands and truncate our collective development can not cause the underdevelopment of their people & the Sisaala land.

A word of caution to however to those who have ears. Let no one be taken to Accra, given a few cedis and then come back to keep quiet. We are watching keenly and following fervently events and the progress of things. Let us not become another group of people who condone hypocracy to doing the right things. We must prove to ourselves that we are different. We must prove that we too deserve better as a people. We must bury this treachery, hypocracy and lust for individual self enrichment and stand up for what’s right. I hope this is not a call in futility.

For God and the Sisaala land.
Chief Bukari Kuoru.
23-04-2021.