NOT AGAIN, BAWKU

WE are very sad to be revisiting this issue of communal violence in the country, especially after the country seemed to have, in one unit, supported the Black Stars during the just-ended Ghana 2008 soccer fiesta.
This is because of renewed fighting between Kusasis and Mamprusis in Bawku in the Upper East Region.
The sad news is that three persons are alleged to have lost their lives in the fresh fighting following the firing of guns by irate youth from the two feuding ethnic groups in the neighbourhood of Sabongedi.
What makes this current skirmish very worrying is that the gun men opened fire on worshippers who were engaged in evening prayers in a mosque.
Only last Thursday, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, announced the extension of the curfew which was imposed on the Bawku area because of the volatile security situation there.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is aware that since the eruption of the conflict in late December last year, the government has spent millions of cedis to respond to the security situation in the area.
Indeed, when he briefed Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Bartels said more than 130 soldiers and 250 policemen had been deployed to the area to stabilise the situation and gave an indication that reinforcement would be sent if the need arose.
All this, we must note, entails some expenditure, not to talk about the fact that the security personnel sent there could have been put to other tasks elsewhere to maintain law and order or apprehend law breakers.
The DAILY GRAPHIC would, once again, like to appeal to the feuding factions to choose the path of dialogue in resolving their differences, instead of the use of violence which serves no purpose apart from turning the clock of progress back.
Everybody, including our brothers and sisters in Bawku, knows that violence is counter-productive and so the only option left for the factions is to respect the rule of law and seek redress to their grievances using the appropriate channels.
We are of the firm belief that whatever the bone of contention is, the laws of the land have elaborate provisions which can be used to address the issues in a more meaningful way.
While conceding that litigation can be expensive, time-consuming and sometimes frustrating, we also know that in the long run if both parties in the Bawku conflict submit to the rule of law, the benefits will be mutual, productive and far-reaching, facilitating unity and progress in the area.
Without any doubt, the situation as it exists now in the Bawku area can be likened to a state of nature where only the strongest and most powerful can survive.
But it is also obvious that no society can make progress or thrive in a state of nature where there are all the elements which retard progress — confusion, anarchy and lawlessness.
In the opinion of the DAILY GRAPHIC, what makes the Bawku situation more painful is the unfortunate fact that the people have refused to heed good counsel from well-meaning people to dialogue.
Thus, instead of using all the resources at their disposal to fight poverty, disease and deprivation, the people spend time plotting to fight among themselves, thereby retarding their own forward march.
As if that were not enough, the government’s scarce resources that could have gone into other areas of national development such as education, infrastructure, health care, etc. are “wasted” on peace-keeping efforts.
What is more, public servants such as doctors, teachers, civil servants, nurses and others refuse posting to such conflict-prone areas, slowing down social development in those areas.
Peaceful co-existence is essential for the well-being of any society and it is for this reason that the people of Bawku must promote peace for the good of the area and Ghana as a whole.