It comes as glad tidings to hear that Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, has expressed his determination to help resolve the Bawku conflict.
To start with, he has asked the parties involved to lay down their guns and allow peace to prevail as he leads efforts to seek a lasting solution.
We are glad because the Asante king has the track record of resolving chieftaincy disputes in his kingdom and elsewhere.
We have not forgotten his efforts as the Chairman of the Committee of Eminent Chiefs set up by then President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2002 to resolve the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute.
We recall that Otumfuo Osei Tutu and the two other eminent chiefs, Yagbonwura Tuntumba Boresa Sulemana Jakpa I, the Paramount Chief of the Gonja Traditional Area, and Na Bohugu Abdulai Mahami Sheriga, the Nayiri or the Paramount Chief of the Mamprugu, patiently contained the challenges until November 2018, when the Committee laid out a road map for peace.
That road map culminated in the enskinment of Yaa Naa Abubakari Mahama II as the 41st Overlord of Dagbon and successor to Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II, who, together with 30 others, was killed in March 2002, a disaster that led to a dispute between the two Royal Gates of Dagbon - the Andani and Abudu.
The dispute left the Dagbon Traditional Area without an overlord for almost 17 years until Yaa Naa Mahama's coronation on January 18, 2019.
We can guess that Otumfuo will draw on his experience from the Dagbon dispute to resolve the Bawku dispute.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
He has already gladdened our hearts with a remark which has always been our conviction that there is some truth in every dispute and the resolution efforts should focus on unearthing that truth.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu is reported as mentioning that the codification of lines of succession is one key element that can ensure everlasting peace in chieftaincy disputes and that, "If we follow that, the truth will come out for all to see and there will be peace".
We appeal to the parties in the Bawku conflict to fully cooperate with the Otumfuo for him to be able to resolve the conflict once and for all.
This is not the time to take entrenched positions and withhold important information for personal benefits.
This is the time to seek the good or interest of Bawku and the entire country.
The Bawku area is important to the country in many ways.
For instance, it is a very important agriculture resource for the production of cereals and legumes.
Besides, as an area bordered by Burkina Faso and Togo, it is an entry point for business between the country and its two neighbours and such business transactions and all other economic activities in the area need peace to thrive.
The chieftaincy dispute in the Bawku area has caused a lot of destruction of both life and property; and fear and panic, which make the people in the area especially, be on tenterhooks always.
We, therefore appeal to the parties in the Bawku dispute to do introspection and accept to make life in the area as peaceful as it is for the rest of the country.
