Enough is enough: Let peace prevail in Bawku
Enough of the killings.
Enough of the maiming, brutalities and destruction.
This seems to be the clarion call of Ghanaians to the people of Bawku in the Upper East Region.
The Daily Graphic is adding its voice to the call: Enough is enough. We hope this call will get to all the feuding factions in the Bawku embroglio.
The internecine conflict, which started some decades ago between the Kusasis and Mamprusis, must end now!
The once busy commercial nerve in the Upper East Region has now been turned into a ghost town after prolonged suffering.
The conflict has left in its wake not only deaths and destruction, but also collapsed businesses and other sources of livelihoods.
Some offices, schools and facilities have been closed down, with workers fleeing for their lives and not knowing when they would be going back to where they once considered home.
More than 300 people are said to have lost their lives in the once-thriving municipality.
The reality on the ground is that the factions are not only targeting each other but have also extended the fight to the security personnel there, leading to the deaths and injuries of some of the personnel.
Homes and marketplaces are not spared from destruction.
Passengers are forced out of vehicles by their perceived enemies and shot at, with some of the vehicles burnt in the process, making travelling on the Bawku-Bolga-Walewale highway dangerous.
And not even the existing curfew in Bawku and Walewale in the North East Region has helped in dousing the flames.
The tension became more pronounced when the Inspector General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno, visited Bawku last week.
His vehicle was allegedly shot at by some yet-to-be-identified persons.
We, therefore, urge the security agencies to be more proactive in intensifying their intelligence gathering to help prevent such occurrences to nip any possible re-emergence of the conflict in the bud.
They should not wait to act after deadly harm has been caused.
The promising lives of the youth are unfortunately withering away daily.
These are the real effects of conflicts that cannot be lost on anyone.
As put succinctly by a former US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower - “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”
It is indeed pathetic to witness two brothers fighting each other over who has the authority to rule over the other.
It is worth noting that some of the warring factions - Kusasis and Mamprusis- are intermarried.
While some have both parents coming from the same ethnic group, others have their fathers or mothers belonging to either of the two groups.
However, the answers to these can only be found by going back to the drawing board to jaw-jaw to find a lasting solution to a protracted crisis that has become an albatross hanging around the neck of the nation.
And to those who assume the problem of Bawku is far from them, they need a proper rethink because citizens of Bawku can be found in all parts of the country. And as the saying goes, when a neighbour’s house is on fire, you must act fast to safeguard yours.
The solution to the crisis needs the active involvement of all stakeholders. It cannot be left in the hands of the government and security agencies alone. Peace in Bawku is peace everywhere.
The Daily Graphic is happy that the government has involved major stakeholders, such as chiefs, to mediate. It was heart-warming when President John Mahama announced at a graduation ceremony at the Military Academy in Accra last week that a mediation process being led by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will commence this week as part of increased efforts to restore calm in Bawku.
It is a fact that war wins land, but peace wins people.
We hope that with a return to peace, the once vibrant commercial town of Bawku will bounce back!
We wish the Asantehene and all stakeholders the best in the mediation efforts.
