GHANAIANS widely applauded the news from Bawku in the Upper East Region yesterday to the effect that the leadership of both factions in the conflict had embraced one another in public and jointly pledged to work together to bring durable and lasting peace, stability and prosperity to Bawku.
The breakthrough, which followed earlier meetings President John Evans Atta Mills held separately with the leaders of the various factions, opens a new chapter in the inter-ethnic relations among the diverse groups of people in the area, as well as enhanced prospects for the socio-economic advancement of the area.
Indeed, such was the joy for all that President Mills offered a prayer of thanks to God Almighty and prayed that God should fill the hearts of the rival factions with love, peace and understanding so that instead of permanently being at each other’s throats, they would join hands and work to develop the area and in this way improve the quality of their lives (see front page).
We are returning to the subject of Bawku for the second time in two days because of its importance to our national security and development.
The resumption of the conflict within the last few years has claimed many lives, maimed and crippled hundreds of others and destroyed property estimated at millions of Ghana cedis. The cost of the conflict becomes prohibitive when one factors in the man-hours lost on the farms, in offices and shops and other business enterprises over these years and their effects on national development.
This is not to mention the millions of cedis spent by the government in containing the situation and the negative image it has carved for the area in the minds of people in and outside the country.
The real import of this positive development is that it provides a good opportunity to break the animosity that has existed between the various rival groups and thus ushers in a new beginning for the people to see one another as folks inextricably bound together by common problems and the same destiny.
Should this new positive attitude and thinking endure, the collective resources, energies and expertise of the various groups that had hitherto been committed to war and destruction, can now in an atmosphere of peace and oneness be channelled into productive ventures to create more jobs, better incomes and wealth for the people, regardless of whether they are Kusasis or Mamprusis, Moshies or Bisas.
A return to peace and order in the area would also pave the way for the government to push ahead with its development plans and programmes, including critical investment in agriculture, agro-processing, cottage industries, etc., all of which would put more resources in the area and more money in the pockets of the people and in this way contribute significantly to the enhancement of the living standards of the people.
While we commend individuals, groups and institutions including the government, NGOs, traditional rulers and opinion leaders and the Inter-ethnic Peace Council for their contributions to breaking this deadlock, we would nevertheless appeal to everyone, including the rival groups, the government and peace committees not to go back to sleep in the belief that the storm is over.
This is the critical phase in the peace process that needs all the vigilance, encouragement and support to get through to its logical conclusion.
We wish to congratulate the long-suffering people of Bawku on this breakthrough and to urge them to jealously guard and protect these hard-won gains by closing and solidifying their ranks.
It is only the people of Bawku who can bring durable peace and prosperity to the area and now is the time!
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