Bawku Naba calls for sustained commitment to peace

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Mr Asamoah Boateng (left) thanking Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II at the durbar grounds

The Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area in the Upper East Region, Zug-Raan Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, has made a clarion call to the youth, religious leaders and other stakeholders within and outside the Bawku enclave to make a sustained commitment to bringing peace to the area, as the community has since been destabilised following a communal conflict that erupted it since November 2021.

Zug-Raan Naba Azoka II indicated that the restoration of peace in the area largely depended on the commitment of the youth, “and I urge them to remain calm and law-abiding and allow the security agencies to do their work diligently without any interference.”

The Bawku Naba, who doubles as the President for the Kusaug Traditional Council made these remarks when the chiefs and people of Bawku marked the 36th Samanpiid Festival at Bawku over the weekend.

In a speech delivered for him, the Bawku Naba reiterated his resolve toward ending the conflict which had reportedly claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands of others, as scores of gunshot victims were still battling for their lives at the various health centres and hospitals in the region.

The festival was held on the theme; ‘Effective Conflict Resolution and Security Management for Kusaug Development: the Role of all Stakeholders.’

Zug-Raan Naba Azoka II, admonished politicians in Bawku to conduct their campaigns in peace and decorum as the 2024 general elections were drawing closer, stating “anything contrary can further disturb the peace of the country in general and Bawku in particular.”

The Vice President of Ghana and flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, called on the feuding factions in Bawku to work concertedly toward ending the brouhaha for the advancement of the interest of Bawku.

In a speech read for him by the Chieftaincy Minister, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, said “development of communities and our country is a preoccupation of the Akuffo-Addo-led NPP government, and the Bawku situation is a huge worry to all of us.”

He reiterated the unwavering government’s resolve to end the conflict and charged the warring factions to desist from engaging in acts that could further exacerbate the suffering of the people in Bawku.

He told the two factions who remained embroiled in the prolonged chieftaincy turmoil in the area to remain calm, as the Asantehene Osei Tutu II, was working on fast-tracking a committee report to help bring an end to the impasse.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, who addressed the Samanpiid on behalf of the six MPs from the eastern bloc in the region, underscored the need for “all guns to go silent,” stating that was the only way the municipality could be brought back to life.

FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, BAWKU