Ghanaian Royalty | |||||
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King of Dagbamba; Overlord of Dagbɔŋ Yaa-Naa Yakubu II | |||||
King of the Kingdom of Dagbon | |||||
Reign | May 31, 1974 - March 27, 2002 (28 years) | ||||
Enskined | May 31, 1972 | ||||
Predecessor | Yaa Naa Mahama IV | ||||
Successor | Not installed yet (January 2014) | ||||
Gbaŋ Lana | Kampakuya Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andani | ||||
Born |
Saɣnarigu, Tamale |
1 August 1945||||
Died | 27 March 2002 Yendi |
(aged 56)||||
Burial | April 10, 2006 Yendi (Gbewaa Palace) |
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Spouses(s) | Gbanzaluŋ, Katini, Sologu and 24 others | ||||
Issue | 103 children including Kampakuya Naa (2006 - present) Abdulai Yakubu Andani | ||||
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Gate | Andani (Chulum) | ||||
Father | Yaa Naa Andani III | ||||
Mother | Zenabu Mahama | ||||
Religion | Islam | ||||
Occupation | Teacher |
Full name | |
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Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II |
Styles of King Yaa-Naa Yakubu Andani II of the Kingdom of Dagbɔŋ |
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Reference style | His Majesty |
Spoken style | Your Majesty |
Alternative style | Tihi ni Mori Lana |
Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II (1945–2002) was the King of Dagbon, the traditional kingdom of the Dagomba people in northern Ghana, from 31 May 1974 until his assassination on 27 March 2002. He was born in August 1945 in Sagnarigu, a suburb of Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana. Yakubu II was killed on 27 March 2002 at Yendi, the capital of the Kingdom of Dagbon, by supporters of Abudu royal family when clashes broke out between the two feuding Gates of Dagbon Kingship. For 600 years the Abudu and Andani clans, named after two sons of the ancient Dagbon king Ya Naa Yakubu I, cordially rotated control of the kingdom centred in Yendi, 530 kilometres (330 mi) north of Accra, the capital of Ghana. As of January 2014, a regent (installed in 2006) has acted as sovereign of the kingdom until a new ruler is chosen to occupy the revered Lion Skins of Yendi.
After three days of unrest and sporadic violence, Gbewaa Palace, the residence of the king together with thirty surrounding houses were burned down. Thirty members of his household and other members of the community were killed and several others injured. The king's body was dismembered and his head decapitated after he was killed and set on fire. His head was paraded on a spear and parts of his body were paraded around town. Nobody has been jailed in relation to the incidence (January 2014).
Minister of State, Jake Obekyebi Lamptey, announced his death on March 27, 2002. News of his death and the gruesome manner in which it took place shook the entire country and has since affected the lives of Dagombas in Ghana and beyond in diverse ways especially with regard to their political affiliations. Dagbon citizens who occupied prominent government positions were inescapably caught up in the dispute. Some ministers and government appointees resigned under the heat of the dispute.Aliu Mahama, then Vice President of Ghana, vehemently refused to comment the matter. Death of Yakubu II set a lot of Dagombas against the Government of John Agyekum Kufuor (incumbent 2002), further deepening the common asseveration that Dagombas are more generally sympathetic towards the National Democratic Congress than the New Patriotic Party.