The two rival factions in the Dagbon chieftaincy crisis are once again beating war drums. The Abudus say delays in resolving the crisis could pose a serious threat to the December elections. Following the murder of the Dagbon King, Ya Na Yakubu Andani and forty of his subjects in 2002, a committee was set up to resolve the matter. The Committee of Eminent Chiefs led by the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has been holding meetings with the two gates - the Abudus and Andanis. The committee came up with a road map that was accepted by both sides and was supposed to be implemented to resolve the crisis, but disagreements over aspects of the recommendations have since seen either side taking entrenched positions. The Abudus want to perform the funeral of late Ya Na Mahamadu Abdulai in the Gbewaa Palace but the Andanis say that should never happen because is against the custom. They (Abudus) argue that the road map recognizes the late Ya Na Mahamadu as a former Ya Na and therefore wonders why his funeral should not be performed in the Palace. But the Andanis also maintain that the late Mahamadu did not die in the Palace and therefore performing his funeral there will be a sacrilege. Reacting to the disagreements, the head of research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Dr. Kwesi Ennin stressed the need for an amicable resolution of the crisis. He said the depth of anger and bitterness inherent in the arguments being made by the spokespersons of the gates is worrying. He however stressed the need for them to dissociate the crisis from the elections. According to him, there are over a hundred trouble spots in the country and if they all were to be linked to the elections, the 2008 elections will not be conducted at all. Dr. Ennin said the two gates cannot hold the people around the area and Ghanaians in general to ransom. Inciting people and using violent language he pointed out, has the tendency to make people act in a manner that will disturb the peace. Story by Malik Abass Daabu