DIALOGUE, THE WAY FORWARD

TEACHERS and other workers are reportedly fleeing the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District of the Northern Region because of recurring communal violence that has rocked the district over the past three months.
A number of school buildings and property have been destroyed as a result of the violence and students and pupils have no option but to stay at home.
While these conflicts have usually been confined to the northern parts of the country, they have development implications not only for northern Ghana but the rest of the country as well.
Many Ghanaians have found cause to complain about the poor standard of living in the three northern regions and have urged the government to commit more resources to develop that part of the country and improve the lot of the people there.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is also concerned about the state of under-development in the three northern regions and so we are alarmed by the recurring violence, a situation which will only exacerbate the already poor living conditions of the people there.
Since the 1980s and 1990s, the northern part of the country has been plagued by such communal violence, sparked by causes that could have easily been resolved through dispassionate dialogue.
Gradually, the situation up north, with regard to these recurring communal violence, seems to be attaining cancerous proportions and it is time we found a permanent solution to it.
But, first, the people up north need to recognise that they bear the greater responsibility to improve their lot. They need to express a resilient resolve to pursue peace by burying their individual and ethnic differences so that they could carry their collective destiny in their own hands.
The government can provide all the funds and resources needed for the development of the northern regions but not much can be attained in an atmosphere of violence, acrimony and disunity.
Over the years, billions of cedis have been committed towards addressing those communal conflicts and violence from which precious lives have been lost. We need not lose sight of the fact that such resources could have been channelled into other development initiatives to improve on the standard of living of the people there.
The DAILY GRAPHIC also wishes to appeal to the government to devote more resources towards educating the people on the importance of being tolerant of one another’s views through peace education programmes.
The people must be told that in the circumstance where classrooms are deserted by both teachers and students and where civil servants and health workers are fleeing the region, the gulf between the north and the south can only deepen.
The benchmarks for any progressive society include a literate and healthy population. These can be achieved when all children of school age are enrolled and encouraged to remain in classrooms staffed with qualified teachers and health facilities manned by dedicated health workers. But these professionals will stay in the area to work on condition that their safety will be guaranteed.
While lauding the security agencies for helping to quell violent conflicts up north, we also wish to encourage them to intensify their patrols and intelligence operations to ensure that such conflicts do not erupt in the first place.