SAMANPIID MARKED PEACEFULLY

The 21st Samanpiid Festival of people of Bawku came off successfully over the weekend with the common message to all and Sunday to desist from the destructive tendencies but pursue development agenda.

The festival which could not come off last year owing to the incessant communal conflict saw a high government delegates in attendant.

Addressing the joyous attendees, the Regional Minister for Upper East, Hon. Mark Woyogo urged Bawku Naba, his sub-chiefs, elders to endeavor to mead the broken relationship with their neighbors towards peaceful and harmonious co-existence in Bawku and its envious.

He said there were indications all over that, residents were fed up with these conflicts and therefore, were yearning for speedy resolution of the problems for normal business to resume so as to reduce poverty staring at them.

He added that government would not renege in its effort at ensuring that peace was maintained in Bawku however, noted that peace that had to be supervised was not a lasting one.

The Minister was quick to add that, it therefore, behoves on all parties to the conflict to say “enough is enough and begin to recognize each other as brothers and sister who need one another for mutual development” he advised.

Hon. Woyogo assured the people that the government was not only mindful of its pledge to equitably sharing the nation’s resources but was determined to marshal all resources towards bridging the wide developmental gap between the North and South of Ghana.

In this vein, he said, the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) would champion the development agenda of the three Northern Regions including the northern parts of Brong –Ahafo and Volta Regions.

The Interior Minister Hon. Cletus Avoka who represented the President spoke at length on internal security and asked the people to let bygone be bygones added that the culture of impunity was over, ‘anybody who caused arson, murder or caught with ammunition would be dealt with according to the law of the land’ he said.

He explained that the time when people lost confidence in the national security, therefore trusted no one and put the law into their own hands was thing of the past, henceforth, anyone who felt offended should only put it into paper and pen and channel through the law court as the only process for proper redress.

Hon. Avoka was grateful to Bawku Naba, the planning committee and other tribes that made it possible to hold the festival this year which should had taken place last year but was not possible because of the conflict.
The Bawku Municipal Co-coordinating Director, Mr. Yakubu Alhassan Abukari said Bawku was rated very bad across the country, consequently potential personnel and workers invariable shy away from accepting postings, on the mere mention of Bawku because they were petrified by stories they heard about the place.

He added that to correct this negative impression and evoke mixed sentiments and apprehension by certain people by mere mentioning of Bawku, the security agencies had to gather courage to “bite the bullet” in getting this festival celebrated.

Mr. Abukari said having managed this conflict this far, the security agencies had no cause to suspect the insincerity and sinister motives on the part of anybody and therefore had confidence that all citizens of Bawku would be law abiding.

The Bawku naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II lamented over the conflict which lasted over a year, saying that “Everyone would agree with me that the bitter experiences we all went through last year in the form of conflicts have not benefited any group or individual. We have all lost and become the poorer”.

He continued that, at this time no one needed to tell them to stop the senseless conflict and seek unity among the various tribes for meaniful development. “What we should be fighting together is poverty, ignorance and disease ‘he added.

Naba Asigri appealed to his entire subjects irrespective of ethnic differences to put hatred and conflict behind them and together assured the government that they were poised for development.

Naba appealed to Mills’ administration to as matter of urgency put ‘life’ into Tamne Irrigation Project whose feasibility studies had long been completed but not to give the usual excuse of financial constraint in order to provide the teaming youth means of survival.

Bawku Naba took the opportunity to announce to all gathered that he would celebrated his silver Jubilee as Bawku Naba this year and plans were being put in place and details would be released in due course.

This year’s festival was under the theme “Forging Ahead in unity and Development” and was celebrated under a heavy police and military protection.

Godwin A. Nkunu
I.S.D – Bawku