Many call it one of the upsets in the last governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Primaries and others say it is only a reflection of the new trend in our national politics.
Whatever you want to describe it, it remains a fact that for the first time in the history of Politicking in Yendi, a young, energetic, visionary tertiary student has defied the long-held tradition of ‘leadership for the elderly’ and shot himself to the position of the NDC Parliamentary candidate for the Yendi constituency in the upcoming November Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
The news about this election woke up the sleeping political guts in many of the youth in the town, myself inclusive. As a young man myself I always feel the people of Yendi have long been short-changed by their political leadership for far too long.
For those of you who do not know Yendi too well it is the traditional seat of Dagbon kingdom. In terms of size, it is only next to Tamale, the northern regional capital as far as the Northern Region is concerned.
Currently, it is the only municipality in the region aside Tamale which is a metropolis. But in terms of development, it is a pale shadow of itself. The town today cannot even boast of a single radio station relative to smaller towns within the region which have.To many, the mention of Yendi brings only one thing to mind – Abudu and Andani conflicts.
When in November last year news went viral that one young gentleman has done the unthinkable by unseating the long-reigning parliamentary candidate for NDC in the constituency,Alhaji Baba Tanzania who got the opportunity to be in Parliament in the Mills’ reign, I set out to find out who this gentleman is. Seeing his posters, I realized I knew the face though not the personality.
I have since engaged family and friends in Yendi to ascertain the personality behind this young gentleman. It was at this point that I became more convinced about the power of humility.
Almost everyone describing this young man to me used words like ‘humble’, ‘humility’, ‘down to earth’, ‘respectful’, etc. But I said to myself is this all we need to deliver ourselves from this incompetent leadership that has come to be the hallmark of leadership in our beloved Yendi? Isn’t it time we looked for capabilities rather than these ‘cosmetic’ attributes?
But upon further contemplation and interrogation I came to share in the general opinion of the people. In the past, leadership has been reduced to showmanship in Yendi. There is a complete loss of touch between the leaders and the led in the town painting a picture that is completely in sync with what Karl Marx postulated in the 19th century. And so to the people of Yendi humility and respect from political leaders is a lost treasure and it looks like they have finally found that in the young Alikali Hamza.
So Who Is Alhaji Alikali Hamza?
Born in April 1981, Alhaji Alikali Hamza is a young man who is obsessed with service to mankind in all spheres of his life.
He is the Founder of Moulana Youth Foundation in 2010, a local NGO, which has as its core mandate to work towards building peace in Dagbon especially among the youth.
The young Alikali started his elementary education at Assalleeya Islamic Primary School in Yendi from where he proceeded to Islamic No. 2 JSS between 1996 and 1998.
He obtained his Intermediate Certificate in Carpentry and Joining from Tamale Polytechnic between 2005 and 2007. Alhaji Hamza is currently a third year student of Islamic University College in Accra where he is studying Business Administration, Human Resource option.
Though young, Alhaji Hamza’s contribution to Yendi is immense. Through the Moulana Peace Foundation was born the annual Maulid which became annual ritual bringing together tens of hundreds of Muslims together each year during the Damba festival.
One critical feature of the Maulid is its social support system. The initiative has so far provided support to about 47 students through the payment of school fees and others. These students have been supported right from JSS and SSS to tertiary institutions.
Today, the last batch of six students is due to graduate from the University of Ghana, University of Professional Studies (UPS) and Tamale Polytechnic. These students are currently pursuing various programmes such as Business Administration, Marketing, Secretary & Management, Sociology, among others. I have no doubt these individuals will in the end contribute their quota not only to the development of Yendi but to Ghana at large.
The Vision of Young Alikali for Yendi
Alhaji Hamza considers youth employment as occupying an enviable place in his vision for Yendi. An idle mind they say is the devil’s workshop.The main concern for the youth in Yendi is unemployment. Having realized this, the young Alikali has already initiated moves with the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) to secure jobs for the youth of Yendi.
Water they say is life and to many of us who are concerned about Yendi the recent water shortage that hit the town as a result of the drying up of the river Dakar is still fresh in our minds. As part of his contributions to the constituency Alhaji Hamza has been working with the relevant state institutions to ensure that water is piped to various communities in the Yendi constituency.
There iscurrently an going project to connect pipes from Yendi to Gnani to ensure constant water supply even during the dry season.
Aside this, he is also championing a number of projects in the area of electricity connectivity for communities like Kpulkpunduli, Choe, Kuga, Kunkong. Reports indicate that the projects in Kulkpunduli and Choe are ready and sooner than later they would be connected to the national grid.
KVIP facilities are not left out.Alhaji Hamza has indicated that in all 38 toilet facilities are being put up in the constituency and that eight of these are currently ready for operations.
In the light of the above, I have no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that a new light has been lit for the new Yendi and that everyone including the young and the elderly, the rich and the poor, men and women should support this youth dynamism that is beginning to reign over incompetence, indolence, mediocrity, selfishness, pride and arrogance.
There is no doubt that Yendi has reached that junction where young and enterprising ideas are what we need to turn things around and these I find in the young Alhaji Hamza whose philosophy in life is underpinned by the principle that whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve it.
By Hon Jofa, Yendi.
I have no doubt in my mind that Alhaji Hamza emerged at a time when Yendi and its environs are in die need of a competent and dynamic leader who can build confidence and inspire all in order to redeem the sinking image of our humble home.
May God guide you against arrogance and hand to you success and good leadership.