BAWKU U-TURN: Akufo-Addo beats retreat, rescinds decision to arrest Nayiri and rival Bawku Naaba

 

In a dramatic development following the failed attempt by the Military to arrest the the Nayiri and his newly enskinned RIVAL BAWKU NAABA and the resistance mounted by the Youth;

President Akufo-Addo has rescinded his decision to have them arrested and gone to court to reverse the earlier arrest warrant.

It will be recalled that the Nayiri invited all his Chiefs and people to come and defend their Chiefs and Homeland from the military aggression and central government’s Interference in their Chieftaincy issue…

Experts have warned of the Bawku Chieftaincy and the boisterous handling by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government of the issue amid the recent gunning down of civilians will escalate the conflict and potentially facilitate infiltration of Ghana by insurgents…

The conflict is reported by Evans Mensah of Multimedia on the Joy News TV “PM Express” programme to have spilled over into a Ashiaman in Accra among tribal grouping hailing from the Bawku area…

The frequency of (ab)use of military to perform the role of the Police including government’s use of the Ghana Armed Forces to arrest, brutalize, assault and shoot people is unacceptable.

The police has many units including the COUNTER TERRORISM UNIT capable of handling such situations.

Article 300 of the Constitution of Ghana, enjoins the Government of Ghana to equip the Police and recruit enough personnel to perform the function of internal security policing assigned it under the Constitution.

The Military under the Constitution of Ghana, is responsible for the protection of the territory of Ghana, to wit, the borders of Ghana from external aggression including the infiltration of insurgents.

THE MILITARY IS TRAINED TO KILL;

Thus the deployment of the Ghana Armed Forces instead of the Ghana Police Service to communities like Bawku, resulting in shooting to kill and cold-blooded murder is not an accident but a premeditated objective of the policy makers who took the decision and the commanders who issued the “SHOOT-TO-KILL” orders.

Doing the right thing, the wrong way, cannot be right.

The belated BAWKU U-TURN by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government is welcome news, provided the right thing will now be done legally to ensure lasting peace is restored.

The Ghana Armed Forces must focus on protecting the borders of Ghana from insurgency.

The fifteen (15) Forward Operating Bases in Northern Ghana with some along the Burkina Faso border must be put to proper use.

The newly imported equipment for the Police including the Counter Terrorism Unit must be immediately deployed to the Bawku area and other flashpoints like Ashiaman to forestall any further excalation.

Ghanaians must condemn the destruction of property including Police Stations in reprisal attacks.

The cold-blooded Murders of Citizens by the Military and rival factions must be investigated and culprits punished to serve as deterrent to others.

Government officials whose action or inactions including statements have led to the current situation must also be sanctioned.

The Nayiri, his Chiefs including the newly enskinned one and the youth must act within the law and realise that if they fall foul of the law, the law will have to be applied without fear or favor; as nobody is above the Laws and Constitution of Ghana.

GHANA WILL ONLY SURVIVE IF…

The Chieftaincy institution is not allowed to be undermined by anybody or group of persons attempting to usurp power from the rightful heirs to SKINS or STOOLS.

“A person does not qualify to be a Chief unless he hails from the appropriate family lineage and bloodline.”

LET’S ALL BE GUIDED.

Unfortunately, in the attempt to steal and sell Lands, illegally assume positions of power, reverence and the discovery of Minerals in various parts of the country, miscreants of all sorts and their political and business associates have infiltrated the Chieftaincy circles trying to foist themselves where they do not belong by family lineage and bloodline.

Some of these miscreants create fraudulent documents for the purpose of misrepresenting themselves and fraudulently selling Lands in contravention of the Land Law ACT 1036.

THE LAW WILL SOON CATCH UP WITH THE MISCREANTS.

ACT 1036 prescribes stiff fines and long terms of imprisonment for those who indulge in fraudulent Land Transactions.

The vetting of the new Chieftaincy Minister and the Minister of State in Charge of Local Government by the Appointments Committee of Parliament confirmed the role of central government in Chieftaincy and the Registrars appointed by government to administer the Traditional Councils which are statutory bodies that advice the Chief and interface with government.

Bawku and other areas in Ghana may benefit from the clarity brought by the information on the Devolution of Power, insulation from governmental Interference and the revenue distribution.

Cont’d

By Prince-Derek Adjei