The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, on Tuesday presented his final mediation recommendations on the Bawku chieftaincy dispute to President John Dramani Mahama, calling for the enforcement of existing laws recognising Asigri Abugurago Azoka II as the lawful Bawku Naba.
This was after a two and half years of mediation on the conflict.
Addressing the matter of authority in Bawku, Otumfuo said, “On the question of Bawku town, I've taken the position that the established tradition since 1931 thereabouts is that the person who is Bawku Naba has the entire Kusasi area. By law and the declaration of the Supreme Court of Ghana, Asigri Abugurago Azoka is a Bawku Naba and there cannot be any rival residing in Bawku claiming otherwise.”
He said he had urged the Nayiri to accept the legal position. “I have impressed upon my brother the Nayiri to accept that recognition by law in appreciation of the enduring brotherhood and international spirit that my brother himself is so concerned about,” Otumfuo stated.
On the 2023 enskinment of Seidu Abagre, Otumfuo said, “I have been candid with my brother the Nayiri that the purported enskinment has come to terms with the difficulties that will pose to achieving lasting peace which he desires.”
He added, “I have from the inception restrained both governments from effecting the arrest of Mr. Seidu Abagre. Out of respect for my brother, the Nayiri, the final resolution of the Bawku matters requires that Mr. Seidu Abagre be recalled to Nalerigu by the Nayiri to be reassigned to play another traditional role at the palace of the Nayiri, assisted by the state. Alternatively, he may choose to stay in Bawku as an ordinary citizen of the community, but not to pose as Bawku Naba.”
Presenting his main recommendation to the President, Otumfuo said, “Mr President, I recommend that my brother, the Nayiri, accepts the laws as presently constituting Asigri Abugurago Azoka as the chief of Bawku and head chief of the Kusasi traditional area. We chiefs, no matter how exalted, do not live above the constitution of Ghana and the laws due to Asigri Abugurago Azoka must be enforced by the government of the Republic of Ghana until change in accordance with the 1992 Constitution. This is critical to the restoration and maintenance of peace in the Kusasi traditional area.”
Explaining the legal basis of his position, Otumfuo said, “I have come to the conclusion that by the Constitution enacted in 1992, for about 40 years, this has been a proper process. As already indicated, any review of the pronouncement of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Ghana must follow the stated hearing process. If the pronouncement of the Supreme Court appears not clear enough, remedy may be sought if available.”
He also proposed a parallel reconciliation effort. “Meet them again, we set up a mediation process where we would do reconciliation and everything. The way things have happened, with the Peace Council, and then we nominate some lawyer from each side and others, and we form a committee to go through that. I think we can find a way to get them to coexist, not by the government, but by the National Peace Council, myself and some people.”
Otumfuo said his approach was guided by the need to protect the Presidency. “That is because I did not want it to come from you, for them to charge you that you have changed the report,” he explained.
He thanked President Mahama and former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for their trust in him. “I wish to thank you, Mr. President, and your predecessor, for reposing such confidence in me. I also want to thank the Nayiri and the Bawku Naba for the efforts relative to this mediation process. The various chiefs and heads of communities whom I met in the area and who participated in this endeavour deserve positive commendation,” he said.
Earlier, Otumfuo stressed the nature of his role. “I'm here not to give a judgment as to who was wrong and who was right. I'm here to present the facts of the two and a half years since your predecessor invited me to mediate in a major conflict in Bawku that had not only claimed the lives of many innocent souls, but had also hindered governance,” he said.
He added, “What I can say is that it was a mediation. It was not an arbitration. I'm not here to say this one was wrong or that one was right. I will present the facts as they are, and that is what should bind all of us.”
Otumfuo said both the NPP and NDC administrations agreed his recommendations should be enforced. “Both President Akufo-Addo and now President John Dramani Mahama came to a conclusion that the courts of Ghana had been invited to resolve the issues implicating the Bawku matter. The pronouncements have not been respected by sides when they went against them. As a result, both governments took the position that I should define a solution using mediation and that my conclusions should be enforced as a traditional solution,” he said.
President Mahama, responding to the presentation, said the government would announce its position on the report within 24 hours.
The Bawku chieftaincy dispute, mainly between the Kusasis and Mamprusis over the right to occupy the Bawku skin, has led to recurring violence, loss of lives and persistent security challenges in the Upper East Region.
