THE GREAT CHIEF S.D DOMBO Simeon Diedong Dombo (1925 - 1998) was a Ghanaian politician, teacher and chief. He was a Member of Parliament and the Parliamentary Leader during the first Republic of Ghana. As the Douri-Na, he was reputed to be the first educated chieftain in the Upper West Region of Ghana. He was one of the founders of the Northern Peoples Party. This later merged with the United Party. During the Second Republic, he was a member of the ruling Progress Party. He was Minister for Health and then Minister for Interior in the Busia government. The Northern Peoples Party (NPP) was a political party in the Gold Coast which aimed to protect the interests of those in the Northern region of Ghana. Other founding members of the party also included Mumuni Bawumia, J.A. Braimah, Tolon Naa Yakubu Tali, Naa Abeifaa Karbo, Imoru Salifu and C. K. Tedem. The New Patriotic Party (NPP), an offspring of the most consistent political tradition in Ghana the United Party (UP) celebrated its 17th anniversary on July 24, 2009. The occasion was used to rename the partys tradition as the Danquah-Dombo-Busia This was long over due and worth commending considering the role the late Chief Simon Diedong Dombo played in the sustenance of this great political tradition. In December 1957, the new sovereign Convention Peoples Party (CPP) government passed the Avoidance of Discrimination Act that was aimed at ensuring that political parties were nationally based. Consequently, the opposition parties merged into one party called the United Party (UP) under the joint leadership of K.A. Busia (NLM) and S.D. Dombo (NPP). With 15 seats from the Northern Peoples Party (NPP) and 12 from the National Liberation Movement (NLM) after the 1956 Legislative Assembly election, Chief S.D. Dombo could have been the leader of the UP tradition in 1969 but selflessly passed it on to Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia. Chief Dombo, a renowned Chief of Duori in the Lawra/Nandom District of the Upper West Region of Ghana was an astute politician notwithstanding the fact that he was not as educated as his contemporaries in the South. He was Certificate B Teacher having completed Government Teacher Training College in Tamale in 1945 but has an envious track record. It is on record that Chief Dombo was a founding member of the Northern Peoples Party along side others like Chief Mumuni Bawumia, Tolon Naa Yakubu Tali, Kabachewura J. A. Braimah, Mr Imoro Salifu and so on. Chief Dombo and many others from the northern part of the country made sure that the UP tradition was deeply rooted in the three northern regions. I ,Bismark Agyei Okyere-Darko totally agreed with Dr Obeng Busia an NPP stalwart and nephew of Proffessor K A Busia when he said One historical figure of the Party who always comes to mind as a classic example of subordinating individual ambition for the greater good is the late Chief Dombo. When it became clear that the only way the formidable CPP could be dislodged from power was through a coalition of the smaller opposition parties, Chief Dombo, who then controlled 13 Parliamentary seats and was the Official Opposition Leader, surrendered his leadership of the Opposition to Dr. Busia and accepted to become the latter’s deputy in the newly-formed United Party. In fact, it is against this background of the history of selflessness on the part of this founding member of the Party that I suggest that we call the tradition the Danquah Busia-Dombo tradition We are told by adherents of the UP Tradition that, Chief Dombo not only sacrificed political ambition for the evolution of the UP. As the majority partner in the merger of parties, he could have come to the table with pre-conditions to be the leader of the UP rather than deputy-leader. Chief Dombo also sacrificed family life, as well as personal freedom, and even threats of death, to defy President Nkrumah even with the passage of the PDA. He was jailed twice by Nkrumah for his activism, the second, in condemned cells. But for the 1966 coup, Dombo, like his compatriot, Danquah, would have died in prison. Chief Dombo eschewed power for the sake of it, in favour of honour, justice, fairness and servitude. Otherwise, he could easily have done one of two things: run off into exile and be safe, or taken the bribe President Nkrumah offered, of a ministerial position, if he would cross carpet on to the opposition side like a host of o thers did. He believed in principles, and was willing to die defending them. Arguably, it can be surmised that Dombos strident opposition to a power-drunk President Nkrumahs crusade to form a one-party State, helped preserve Ghanas current multi-party democracy! Indeed, he is an incontrovertible figure in the UP tradition that most of us must emulate for his symbolic selflessness, altruism and principled attributes.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 10:27:02 +0000
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