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HE NORTHERN Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Lemuna, has expressed concern over the way majority of the youth in Tamale and the Northern Region as a whole are increasingly becoming indisciplined, disrespectful and unruly. According to him, the youth have gone completely out of control and charged traditional, religious and opinion leaders to find ways of dealing with the situation. The Minister, who was addressing a durbar of chiefs and people of the Northern Region to mark the celebration of the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC) in Tamale recently, lost his disposition as a result of the frequent disparaging remarks, insults and unwarranted attacks by the youth, directed at people in authority without any provocation. The Youth of the region are indeed gaining notoriety for attacking chiefs and other people in authority, chasing away and sometimes beating up Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, as well as locking up offices and seizing official vehicles and bungalows of government officials, among other barbaric behaviours. Just yesterday, a group of northern youth at Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, went on rampage attacking each other over a disputed GHc70 and copper wire. When the situation was brought under control, two people had already been killed. The feuding factions, according to Joy FM report are believed to be Dagomabs and Nanumbas. A motorbike, which one of the factions had wanted to seize, was also set ablaze. Heavy security personnel had been deployed to the place to ensure law and order. Alhaji Lemuna, who blamed the traditional rulers and other people in authority in the region for condoning these boisterous behaviour for some time now, has warned that he would never tolerate such acts, so far as he remained the Regional Minister. According to him, it was time the leaders of the region woke up to boldly speak against the youth, who are becoming unruly and disrespectful in society. �We know that those of us in the Northern Region were brought up to respect our elders and people in authority. But what do we see these days? �I was instructed by President John Dramani Mahama to settle a dispute between some youth in Gambaga-Nalerigu constituency and their District Chief Executive. I was in this meeting from 12 noon to 6:00pm only to see some of the youth, led by two guys, entering the meeting hall to come and attack me. �If our youth have grown horns to the level of going to attack a Regional Minister in his residence, who knows who will be next. This is not the first time and this must stop. If we are producing children that we cannot control, children who do not respect Ministers, DCEs and traditional rulers and other people in authority, then we must begin to be worried�. Alhaji Lemuna has, therefore, vowed to deal with any rowdy youth who would attempt to break the law. The Northern Regional Minister also called on the private sector to partner the government to exploit and develop the creative arts and tourism industry to create more employment for the youth. He said government was ready to support all the youth engaged in the production of hand-woven smocks, leather works and other art works in the region. This year�s NAFAC, which is being celebrated on a regional basis is on the theme: �Creative Arts and Tourism Industry: A Platform for National Development.� It is being supported by MTN Cultural Fest, under the caption MTN Savannah Fest 2014. The Northern Region is abound with a lot of tourist sites, including the popular Mole Game Reserve, Nalerigu Defense Wall, Salaga Slave Market, the Mystic Stone on Damongo-Sawla road and the 13th Century Mosque at Larabanga among others. The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, in a speech read on her behalf, reiterated government�s commitment to develop the tourism industry and called on all stakeholders to provide the needed support.