President John Dramani Mahama’s call for calm in Bawku, following the conclusion of mediation by the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II-led committee, is timely, necessary and in the supreme interest of Ghana’s national cohesion.
Yet, as history has repeatedly shown, appeals for calm alone will not heal the deep wounds of a conflict that has festered for decades. What lies ahead is a more difficult phase: translating legal clarity into social acceptance and sustainable peace.
The Bawku chieftaincy dispute between the Kusasis and Mamprusis has long outgrown the confines of tradition. It has evolved into a security, humanitarian and development crisis with national and regional implications.
As President Mahama rightly noted, Bawku sits at a strategic frontier, sharing borders with Burkina Faso and Togo. In an era when violent extremism is spreading southwards from the Sahel, continued instability in Bawku is not merely a local concern; it is a direct threat to Ghana’s northern security architecture.
The findings of the Otumfuo Mediation Committee, which reaffirm Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the lawful Bawku Naba and Paramount Chief of the Kusaug Traditional Area, rest firmly on established judicial decisions and constitutional processes. This clarity is important. Prolonged ambiguity has often been exploited to justify violence and defiance of state authority.
The Asantehene’s forthright rejection of parallel enskinments and untenable claims underscores a crucial truth: the rule of law must remain the anchor of traditional governance in a constitutional democracy.
However, legal correctness does not automatically translate into peace on the ground. President Mahama’s acknowledgment that the conflict is “not winnable militarily” reflects a sobering reality.
Years of bloodshed have produced no victors; only widows, orphans, displaced families and a devastated local economy. Bawku’s tragic distinction as a place where teachers, health workers and civil servants refuse postings, and where national service has been suspended, is a damning indictment of the human cost of protracted conflict.
In our view, the next phase, therefore, must prioritise reconciliation over triumphalism. The President’s emphasis on reconciling factions after the mediation is well placed. Peace cannot be imposed; it must be nurtured through dialogue, empathy and compromise, even when legal positions appear settled.
Traditional leaders, opinion leaders, youth groups and women, who often bear the brunt of violence, must be deliberately included in post-mediation engagements.
Equally important is the role of development as a peace dividend. As the Chairman of the Peace Council, Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, aptly observed, peace requires fairness, consistent engagement and development that reaches the ordinary person.
Without visible improvements in livelihoods, infrastructure, education and healthcare, calls for peace may ring hollow to communities trapped in poverty and mistrust.
Government, therefore, must go beyond issuing a statement on its position within 24 hours. It must commit resources to a comprehensive Bawku recovery and resilience plan, linking security, reconciliation and development. Confidence-building measures, including impartial enforcement of law and order, protection for all communities, and restoration of public services, are essential.
Bawku stands at a crossroads. The mediation report offers a rare opportunity to close a painful chapter. Squandering it through inaction, bias or political hesitation would be a grave disservice to the people of Bawku and to Ghana as a whole. Peace, once lost, is costly to regain.
Now that the path has been charted, courage, fairness and sustained commitment must guide the journey ahead.
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