Proud Daughter of Dagbon, Zosimli Naa II Ife Bell led this week, on the 18th of December, the first New Jersey Damba festival as the honorary chief. She is an international speaker, thought leader, coach, and philanthropist who serves on several non-governmental boards.
As customs demanded, she welcomed the delegation from Ghana, the Ghanaian community in the US, especially the Northern people, and also the distinguished guest speakers and chiefs that came to celebrate the beautiful culture of the Northern people.
She then asked all of the people to take a moment to reflect on a question: “What can we create together that we cannot do alone that has the power to transform?” She also asked if they were ready to take immediate action on the same day of the Damba and not the next day.
She began her opening remarks by stating that the office of Zosimli Naa, together with stakeholders, especially northern people in every corner of the United States and Ghana, was going to create an alliance for a movement. She added that “Every great movement is preceded by a sound, and tonight the drummers have provided us with that sound.” Defining a movement as a sustained campaign in support of a collective goal They are a result of people-to-people collaboration whose relationships are defined by a shared common outlook on the development of a society. Movements replicate themselves and stand the test of time. 
Yet, a movement requires that each person engage in collective action toward a common goal, which is the development of Tamale. She asked each person to take note of two important messages. First, that “Leadership is a Lifestyle”, and second, that “Development is a Group Activity.”
She is compelling the people to join her in the development agenda of the people of Tamale and the Northern Region as a whole. She reminded every individual of the power that they have to produce a greater impact, especially on the vulnerable in our society. She invited all to join and gave three ways that people could engage and contribute their efforts towards this significant movement. She expressed her belief that leadership is a lifestyle and people are our greatest resource in life. It is her mission to expand the capacity of people to bring their very best selves to every aspect of their lives. Each morning she prays for God’s strength as she executes her commitment to the development of the people of Tamale and the Northern Region by leveraging her network and platforms.
She asked all to join her in the affirmation by saying after her, “I am a leader.” As leaders, our actions and decisions are to make strong connections and friendships with other leaders in support of accomplishing a goal. Today we, as leaders, came together in support of the goal of celebrating our culture and the second goal of fostering development. This requires people. So remember from this event that “leadership is a lifestyle”, and we are all leaders together in this movement.
She again emphasized that development is a group activity, defining it as an act or process of growing or causing something to become larger and more advanced. She shared three strategies for action that we can take together to achieve the developmental goals:
1) to bring in diverse leaders who are young, energetic, and committed. Both men and women, in particular professionals, who will register with a yearly fee and be members of the Tamale-Louisville Sister Cities Committee. As many of you know, Tamale and Louisville have been Sister Cities, collaborating and achieving a lot for over 40 years with members in both cities. She expressed that having a diverse group of leaders is “important in accomplishing this work.” Therefore, she’s encouraging the youth in the region, especially professionals, to register, join, and pay annual dues to keep the committee in Tamale vibrant, as well as take up leadership positions within the sister cities group. This approach will demonstrate the preparedness of the youth to be stakeholders in the work of development for Tamale. She encouraged people to reach out to the Tamale-Louisville sister cities office to join the movement.
2) The second strategy is that the office of Zosimli Naa is committed to establishing a formidable group known as the “Friends of Tamale.” This group will be a diverse group of Americans; black and white, women and men, young and old, with a particular focus on the African American community, who desire to visit their ancestral home to participate in building or invest in Ghana. Members of this association will be organized by their areas of specialty and partner with their Ghanaian counterparts to work together towards the development of the North while also learning from each other. She has already begun to invite interested individuals and groups to sign-up and support this movement.
3) The third strategy focuses on strengthening existing programs and relationships with individuals and professionals from Tamale or the Northern Region who have relocated to the United States.She wants to make connections with every Northerner abroad or within the US to join the movement, and she is developing a database and will share a link for individuals to sign-up to help her keep in touch.
She said that the New Jersey community and all of the many communities present would have the first opportunity to register. She also remarked about the existing programs and activities that the planning committee has been engaged, and implored that the robust community to strengthen the current initiatives such as the Dagombas Youth Association, Northern Youth Association and the other groups, So that together, we will make Northern Region strong.
She closed her remarks by reminding everyone that they are leaders, and together we are ready to take action today.
