Asantehene Mediates In Bawku Conflict
The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has stated that he is engaging stakeholders to find a lasting peace to the protracted ethnic clash in Bawku in the Upper East region.
The Asante Monarch made this revelation when the US Ambassador to Ghana, Her Excellency Virginia E. Palmer paid a courtesy call on him at the Manhyia Palace on Friday, September 30, 2022.
“I have had meetings with the national security minister to see how best I can be of help. I will speak to the paramount chief of the Mamprugu people and the Bawku Na Ba to find a way to resolve this. I feel that what is happening in Burkina Faso is porous, and if we are not careful, the porosity of the border will come back to Ghana.”
According to the king, inhabitants of the border town could be exposed to various security threats, including the entry of extremists from Ghana’s northern neighbour, Burkina Faso.
“We do not have the ability to check what is happening. That is why I’m asking the national security minister to give proper intelligence training to control the borders with all the terrorist attacks threats,” he said.
The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is touted for leading eminent chiefs to resolve the 16-year-old Dagbon chieftaincy, thus bringing peace to the area.
The Eminent chiefs committee was made up of the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II (Chairman), the Paramount Chief of the Gonja Traditional Area, Yagbonwura Tuntumba Boresa Sulemana Jakpa I, and the Paramount Chief of the Mamprugu Traditional Area, the Nayiri Na Bohugu Abdulai Mahama Sheriga, set up by then President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2002.
Background
At the heart of the Kusasi-Mamprusi conflict is an agglomeration of issues about litigations over allodial rights and chieftaincy. Both the Kusasi and the Mamprusi claim allodial ownership of Bawku, claims which are shrouded in their narrative histories of origin and derived from claims of autochthony.
Earlier, President Nana Akufo-Addo on a tour in the North East Region appealed to the Overlord of the Mamprugu traditional area, and president of the North East Regional House of Chiefs, Naa Bohagu Mahami Sheriga to help restore lasting peace in Bawku.
He said the persistent violence and killings in the Bawku traditional area are unacceptable and must end.
Recent tensions in Bawku have led to a loss of lives and several persons being wounded.
Source: Opemsuo.com/ Emmanuel Owusu Anti
