Hey! Why must a Garu Kusasi NPP member attempt to gun down a fellow Kusasi NPP member because of a vote for Dr. Bawumia to become NPP flagbearer?
Are you aware the NPP Garu Constituency Chairman – Mr. Michael Abugri alias Dan Michael – was attacked gunmen at his residence at about 9:30 PM on 28th August, 2023? It was initially unclear the identity and motivation of the gunmen who attacked Chairman Abugri. Sources close to the Garu Police say the Police are investigating how Chairman Michael Abugri escaped death!!
However, Garu NPP sources say that prior to the NPP Super Delegates Conference held on 25th August, 2023, Chairman Michael Abugri and other key Kusasi NPP stalwarts perceived to be supporting Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia were threatened by some party folks and social media users.
These threats were reportedly mostly carried out through voice recordings which were circulated across WhatsApp platforms.
Regretably, the Bawku conflict found expression in the NPP internal campaigns as some Garu Kusasi NPP members were against voting for Dr. Bawumia – a Mamprusi from the North East Region.
It was a widely held view that the NPP Garu Constituency Chairman and others voted for Dr Bawumia – an action which was deemed to be against the general wish of majority of the Kusasi NPP members in the Garu Constituency.
Some NPP folks say the silence of Dr. Bawumia on the Bawku conflict since it broke out led some Garu Kusasi NPP Youth to believe some conspiracy theories about the Veep’s role in arming and supporting the Bawku Mamprusis.
Due to this view point, Garu Kusasi NPP stalwarts who are loyalists of Dr. Bawumia are said to have been targeted by their own tribes men – who refer to the Bawumia-loyalists as enemies of the Bawku Naba and Kusasis in the Kusaug Traditional Area.
So some Garu NPP members pointed fingers inwardly to Kusasi NPP members as likely to be responsible for the gun attacks on Chairman Abugri!
Garu NPP folks say as their Party prepares for the 4th November, 2023 Flagbearer elections, there is a strong likelihood of violent clashes between Kusasi pro- Bawumia and Kusasi anti- Bawumia factions.
Hey! Why must a Kusasi NPP member attack a fellow Kusasi NPP member because of the silence of Dr Bawumia on the Bawku conflict? Or is there another hidden agenda for the gun attack on Chairman Abugri?
Silence of Dr. Bawumia
Is it really true that Vice President Dr. Bawumia is silent on the Bawku conflict?
Does the NPP not have Research Teams in the Upper East Regional Secretariat and in the offices of the six (6) Constituencies in the Kusuag Traditional Area (Garu, Tempane, Pusiga, Binduri, Bawku Central and Zebilla)?
How come the Garu Kusasi NPP members did not seek information from the NPP Regional Chairman and/or Vice President Dr. Bawumia – to educate themselves, and by extention the general public, on whether Dr. Bawumia is silent or not on the Bawku conflict?
Were the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Upper East Regional Council of State Member, Regional Minister – a Kusasi from Binduri – and the NPP Regional and Constituency Party Executives not present in Bolgatanga on 1st June, 2023, during the inauguration of the refurbished Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, when Vice President Dr. Bawumia addressed the Chiefs and Queenmothers of the House of Chiefs?
Did the Regional Minister, a Kusasi, and the NPP big wigs not hear Dr Bamumia speak about the Bawku conflict as follows?:
“As a son of the soil, my heart breaks about what is happening in Bawku.The conflict in Bawku is unfortunate because we are really one people, and we must be together and not fight. So, I hope the initiatives that the Government has initiated through the House of Chiefs and Otumfuo will help us bring lasting peace to the area.”
Did Dr. Bawumia not say the following?: ” for us in government, we understand that to prevent conflict and to enhance peace, we need to make sure development in Ghana is inclusive. When people are excluded they are more susceptible to extremist ideologies.”
The question to ask is: Why have the Garu Kusasi NPP members conveniently forgotten that the Vice President broke his “SILENCE” on the Bawku conflict?
And why do the Garu Kusasi NPP members want to attack each other because of a vote for or against Dr. Bawumia in the NPP flagbearer contest?
The Garu Kusasi NPP members are advised to consult the Regional Minister, the Registrar of the House of Chiefs, the NPP Regional and Constituency Executives who were in Bolgatanga on 1st June, 2023, and get informed that IT IS NOT TRUE THAT DR. BAWUMIA HAS BEEN SILENT ON THE BAWKU CONFLICT.
The available record shows that Dr Bawumia spoke up on the Bawku conflict in his address to the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs on 1st June, 2023.
So, I repeat: Hey! Why must a Garu Kusasi NPP member attempt to gun down a fellow Kusasi NPP member because of a vote for Dr. Bawumia?
I shall return.
Owula Mangortey
Bawku
3rd September, 2023