A Member of the Governing Board of the National Peace Council (NPC), Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, has called on Ghanaians, particularly security actors and media practitioners, to take collective responsibility for de-escalating the protracted Bawku conflict and restoring lasting peace to the area.

He said the conflict had gone beyond the two main groups directly involved and had assumed a national dimension, requiring every citizen and institution to contribute to efforts to restore peace and social cohesion.

“We all owe ourselves a duty to be part of those who undertake this sacred duty given to us by God, at every position that we are, to de-escalate tensions in the Bawku conflict because it has gone beyond just the two factions and is now a national problem,” he stated.

Sheikh Shaibu made the remarks at a two-day media and security dialogue in Bolgatanga organised by the NPC, with funding support from the Embassy of Japan through the United Nations Development Programme.

Security, media roles

Sheikh Shaibu urged the security agencies to use the dialogue to improve intelligence gathering, inter-agency cooperation and problem-solving while adhering to their mandates, professionalism and standard operating procedures.

He also challenged the media to exercise greater responsibility in reporting the conflict, saying journalists had a moral and ethical duty to ensure their reportage did not fuel tensions.

“For security, intelligence operations improvement and pragmatic management of the citizens must be at the forefront of our dialogue; and the media, your work should look at promoting peace in a professional manner, devoid of sensationalism, incitement and biases,” he said.

The Executive Secretary of the NPC, Dr George Amoh, said Bawku’s was one of the most difficult conflicts Ghana had experienced and had therefore been placed at the centre of the Council’s peacebuilding activities for the year.

He said the Council had engaged key stakeholders to understand the outstanding issues and identify short, medium and long-term interventions to address them.

“The aim was to get as much information as possible, so that we can all analyse them and see what we can do to bring them to finality,” he stated.

Dr Amoh said those consultations had also raised concerns about the roles of security agencies and the media in sustaining tensions, hence the decision to bring the two groups together.

“Throughout our engagement, we have seen the need to bring the media and our security together, so that we would find a common path to help them de-escalate the tensions in Bawku,” he added.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Donatus Akamugri Atanga, in a speech delivered on his behalf, commended the NPC for convening the engagement.

He also commended security agencies and traditional authorities for their restraint and commitment to maintaining the fragile peace and ceasefire that had prevailed in Bawku for three months.

“These three months of relative calm demonstrate what can be achieved when our security agencies, traditional authorities and other stakeholders work together in the interests of the people,” he said.

Mr Atanga urged stakeholders to build on the relative calm and make it a foundation for reconciliation, integration and lasting stability.

He said security agencies and the media had a particularly important responsibility because their reportage, decisions and engagement with communities could either build confidence or deepen mistrust.

The Coordinator for Economic Cooperation at the Embassy of Japan in Ghana, Izumi Kume, said Japan considered supporting the Bawku peace process as important and meaningful.

She said the Embassy began discussions with Ghanaian authorities following a request from the Office of the President on how Japan could support the peace process.

“We hope this process has a good effect today on the building of peace in Bawku, and also leads to more development activities and projects after the peace process happens,” Ms Kume said.