Sammanpiid Festival Plays Key Role In sustaining Peace in Bawku- Andrew Atariwini

The Sammanpiid Festival celebrated by the Chiefs and people of Kusaug has served as reunion of family members, relatives and love ones. At this time, quarrels and misunderstandings are settled. 

The Annual Festival provides a forum where marriages among people within a particular geographical area can be transacted. The youth at this stage get the chance of arranging marriages or to court. 

Besides, the period is characterized by merrymaking and entertainments. 

The Head of Operations at MacAndy Executives Academy, Andrew Atariwini, a native of Bawku who made the observation in an interview with Radio Ghana’s Samuel Ayammah said the festival has for the past thirty years help them forge close bondage with their ancestors and ask for their protection. 

Mr. Atariwini said the festival brings most of the citizens together. This, according to him, helps them to initiate development projects and to contribute financially towards these projects. 

He emphasized that visitors who also come to witness the festival contribute economically to the locality. 

Mr. Atariwini said the rich cultural heritage of the people is usually manifested during the festival. 

He said the festival has strengthened the people in the area to play their roles as good citizens. 

It provides a forum where the chief must be more effective, morally upright, and accountable to the people. 

It again reminds the youth to lead morally acceptable life so that, they may grow to become good people, whose lives are worthy of emulation by the future generation. 

Mr. Atariwini said successive governments have over the years taken advantage of the festival which usually brings a lot of people together to announce development projects, government policies to the people and to educate them on important issues affecting the people in the area. 

Festivals are not mere joyous occasions but they are occasions for social re-union and economic advancement. 

Festivals are manifestations of the practices and beliefs of a people. 

They are promoters of culture and builders of one's identity. Festivals perform many functions in the society. 

They serve as a means of commemorating and remembering important events in the history of a people. 

He therefore underscored the importance of traditional festivals to socio-economic and cultural development of the country, saying apart from uniting families and friends, they also served as a forum for collective planning and implementation of programs towards community progress.  

Meanwhile, Mr. Atariwini who is a card bearing member of the New Patriotic Party seized the opportunity to declare his intention to contest for the Upper East Regional Youth Organizer position in their upcoming internal elections. 

According to him, he is a team player and when given the nod his outfit will put innovative measures in place to make the party more attractive to the youth in the region. He said mobilizing the youth in the region and letting them understand what they stand to benefit if they support the NPP has not been encouraging over the years. 

He said even though the NPP government led by President Nana Addo is doing well by fulfilling almost all the campaign promises within one year, hence the need for the region to get somebody like him who can unite the youth and win more souls for the party.

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