Military approach alone won’t bring peace to Bawku – Prof. John Azumah

The Founding Executive Director of the Sannah Institute, Professor John Azumah, says peace in Bawku cannot be achieved through military deployment alone without resolving the core chieftaincy dispute that continues to fuel unrest in the area.

Speaking in an interview on Monday, Prof. Azumah said that unless the government takes decisive steps to address the root causes of the conflict, all security interventions will remain ineffective.

“No amount of military can bring peace to Bawku unless that issue is addressed,” he said.

He recalled President John Mahama’s early visit to Bawku just a week after assuming office, describing it as a moment of high expectations from residents. However, he said the visit failed to translate into meaningful policy changes.

“We were all excited when the president came to Bawku after one week of his inauguration. We were very happy. We were celebrating him. But it was all PR. The president is not sincere. He is either not sincere or they are just incompetent.”

According to him, the president’s approach has created frustration among residents who feel their intelligence is being underestimated.

“That is why people are angry on the ground. You came to Bawku. What has happened? Nothing. Not a single policy has changed in Bawku, nothing.”

Prof. Azumah said the government ignored early warnings from actors on the ground who understood the trajectory of the conflict.

“In 2022, I told the then Defense Minister that this conflict is going to spread. If they don’t take time, the conflict will spread. And Nitiwul looked at me and just walked away. They did nothing.”

“We are on the ground. We are picking the signals. We are telling the authorities what to do, what can happen, and they are not listening.”

He expressed concern that the violence in Bawku is already expanding to other parts of the country.

“Look at Asawase. Look at the attacks in Accra, attacks in many other places, in Bolga. It’s happening. It is spreading.”

He warned that continued inaction could undermine national stability and damage the government’s credibility.

“If this government doesn’t take time, Bawku will embarrass this government, and they will have to explain to Ghanaians why they allowed this thing to spread and spread to the rest of the country. When all they need to do is to enforce the law.”

Prof. Azumah pointed to a clear policy position earlier articulated by President Mahama, who, he said, acknowledged that Bawku cannot function with two chiefs.

“President Mahama, as I said, said on point that there can be no two chiefs in Bawku. He came to Bawku and said that on political platforms. Up till now, there are still two chiefs in Bawku.”

He insisted that any effort to resolve the Bawku crisis must begin with settling the leadership question at the centre of the dispute.

“I am telling you again, unless that issue is solved, there will be no peace in Bawku. The issue will only escalate.”

The Bawku conflict, rooted in a long-standing chieftaincy dispute between the Kusasis and Mamprusis, has seen periodic eruptions of violence, often leading to loss of life and destruction of property.