Prioritise peace, unity in Bawku!

It is unfortunate that Bawku is in the news again in con­nection with the chieftaincy dispute there.

Bawku is not the only place in the country where there is a chieftaincy dispute but any time its own comes into the news, it concerns clashes and related high numbers of deaths and injuries.

Imagine that just days ago, 20 lives were taken in attacks and reprisals.

The Ghanaian Times does not intend to wade into the dis­pute and related unfortunate incidents.

It, however, wants to appeal to the factions in the dispute to exercise restraint, no mat­ter how much they think they are right or are being short-changed.

Every chieftaincy dispute is unique according to where it is happening, the cause(s) and the orientation of the people involved.

However, there are things common to these disputes wherever they occur, which are not in doubt.

Innocent people can be victims of the circumstances by way of meeting their untimely deaths; suffering injuries, some maiming; getting their liveli­hoods disrupted; becoming internally-displaced; and fleeing their own lands to be refugees somewhere.

Even those who escape any of these would live in fear, probably perpetual fear, until it is clear there is peace.

This means their everyday life is not lived with the kind of joy and tranquillity expected.

Another thing about such disputes is that they dispel strangers who would have oth­erwise loved to sojourn in the dispute areas to contribute to their development.

This means these areas would lose both physical investment and the human resources to de­velop into places of attraction for all the relevant reasons.

For example, it is in the news currently that the Bawku conflict has caused the Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo to order the immediate closure of all courts in the Upper East Region after court staff and judges raised concerns about their safety amidst the intensify­ing violence.

It is also the case that the government would have to spend money in ensuring the safety of those living in the dispute areas and those visiting there for one reason or another.

And the cost involved is very huge, especially if it has to do with prolonged disputes like that of Bawku, a cost that can deny the conflict areas certain development facilities.

The most important thing about disputes is that each of them can be resolved but that is very much dependent on the principal actors in it.

Therefore, The Ghanaian Times, without wanting to know who is right or wrong in the dispute, wishes to appeal to the principal actors in the pro­longed Bawku dispute to pon­der over the afore-mentioned factors and ask themselves whether they have to maintain their entrenched positions or ease them to give peace and unity the chance to thrive.

The advice from the corri­dors of the Ministry of Chief­taincy and Religious Affairs that politicisation of the Bawku conflict should halt can mean that there are faceless people fanning it.

The Ghanaian Times thinks everything fanning the con­flict should stop and so join former President John Dramani Mahama in calling for peace in Bawku.

Conflict in Bawku under­mines the tranquillity of the whole country, so the factions should avoid what can escalate it and rather embrace all calls and efforts to ensure peace and unity there.

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