“Raise Children with Vision, Not Vengeance” – Yelizoli Regent Tells Traditional Leaders and Parents

Tatale, June 28, 2025 – In a rare and bold appeal, the Regent of Yelizoli, Chief Alhaji Muhammad Ibn Umar, has called on traditional rulers, parents, and communities in Northern Ghana to rise above cultural inertia and historical grievances and instead cultivate a future-oriented mindset in the next generation.

Delivering a stirring address during a stakeholder forum on education in Tatale-Sanguli, Chief Alhaji Muhammad urged traditional authorities to play a more proactive role in promoting quality education, especially in rural areas.

“Our palaces must become citadels of advocacy, where education is proclaimed as loudly as our lineages,” he declared.

He stressed the need for chiefs to defend school lands, combat child marriage, and treat education as a sacred communal duty. But the Regent’s message went further to parents and guardians, he urged them to take seriously their roles as first teachers in the home.

“Poverty may limit what we offer materially, but it must never limit our love, discipline, or belief. These virtues can take a child farther than gold ever could,” he said.

The speech also addressed a sensitive social reality, the tendency to pass historical resentment onto the youth. Chief Alhaji Muhammad warned against raising children on tribalism and bitterness while their peers in other parts of the country advance through innovation and digital learning.

“Let us not fill their ears with war drums, while elsewhere their peers are learning robotics and code. Raise them with vision, not vengeance. Let them compete in numeracy, not nationalism,” he advised.

To the youth, he delivered an inspiring message: “Read. Reflect. Rise. Lead. The future is yours to shape—build it with wisdom and purpose.”

The Regent closed with a proverb that sent ripples through the audience:

“The child who is not embraced by the village will one day burn it down to feel its warmth. Let us not wait for that day. Let us embrace.”

The forum ended with renewed calls from participants for collective ownership of education reforms in Tatale-Sanguli, as many hailed the Regent’s address as a visionary guide for change in the district and beyond.

Source: Issifu Alidu Laa-Bandow//zaaghana.com