The Tamale Mayor, Iddrisu Musah Superior, has issued a fiat to ban musical concerts in the city after a heavy truck run into a jubilating music crowd, killing more than six instantly and left dozens wounded.
The music lovers, hundreds of them seized the main Tamale – Bolga expressway and staged a street jamboree with motorbikes and vehicles towards the airport, to welcome a popular Nigerian singer, Patoranking, ahead of a well advertised and rare musical concert Saturday June 30, at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium, with Fancy Gadam.
Survivors and witnesses told Starr News at the scene that a heavy truck traveling the opposite direction lost control after it attempted to swerve for passage and rammed into the fans. Another report rather said a vehicle among the convoy spurt a tyre and run into a moving truck ahead, causing scores on motorcycles to plunged into the crashed vehicles.
The deceased and injured were sent to the Tamale Teaching Hospital and Starr News sources at the facility fear the death toll might rise.
The outraged Mayor of Tamale blasted the popular musician Fancy Gadam and his managers and said they must be blamed wholly for disregarding his numerous admonitions not to hold processions and block roads whenever they were to organize a concert.
“We are not going to allow one single individual to take the whole Tamale to ransom. I have spoken to him, I have spoken to his managers but this young man would not listen. Why would you want to mobilize young men, innocent people on the street, just because you want to make money? You want to use the blood of the people to make money? We won’t tolerate that”, Superior stated.
He said “the fabulous talent” of Fancy Gadam “is a danger to the people of Tamale and in a fit of his fiery, announced that henceforth musical concert had been suspended until further notice.
“I have banned all musical concert at the Stadium! No more musical concert until further notice”, the mayor declared, adding that “why would he do that? Why would Fancy Gadam do that? Such an irresponsible and lawless young man, full of talent but his talent is a waste and danger to the people of Tamale”
Shortly after the Mayor’s declaration, the musician went on social media to issue message of condolence and canceled the concert.
“My heart is heavy now, words can’t described how I feel. I am sorry to announce to you that my show with Patoranking scheduled to come of tomorrow has been postponed indefinitely…I can’t lose my fans and still have the heart to stage a show”, Mujahid Ahmed Bello, wrote on facebook. He did not address the bombastic rhetoric of the Tamale Mayor and hasn’t also responded to StarrNews request for comment.
In July 2016, nine people died at Asawase, Kumasi, after a stampede at a community center where Fancy Gadam was performing.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Eliasu Tanko
