The Bissa Development Association (BDA) has held its Zekula Poore program with a call on "neighbours" Mamprusis and Kusasis to embrace peace in Bawku as their age-long conflict has made them "a laughing stock."
Bissas could not celebrate their annual Zekula Festival in Kulungungu over security concerns amid the protracted tribal conflict.
Holding a mini Zekula program in Accra on April 16, as an alternative to the cancelled festival, the development wing of the Bissas urged the feuding to reflect on the crisis as it has subjected Bawku to a global mockery.
"Are we really fighting to scare each other, using chieftaincy or tribal reasons as an excuse and after that stay together at one place?" the Chairman Alhaji Shaibu Guatare Zanni quizzed in his opening remarks at the conference.
"We should know that any day the conflict keeps on raging in Bawku, it's actually a match towards backwardness and primitiveness.
"We have become a laughing stock not only in Ghana but to the World.
“In this era of civilization, we cannot be seen to be killing each other over chieftaincy issues.”
The BDA has further urged the two neighbouring tribes to come to a dialogue to bring lasting peace to the town.
To the feuding factions in Bawku who are our good neighbours, they are our brothers, they are our friends, we have been to school with most of them, and so we say that they should reflect upon the crisis," he said.
We hope that they get to a point where they will see each other as one, and interdependent
According to the group, the prolonged conflict has among other things hindered development in the area over the years.
Despite defending the decision not to celebrate the Zekula, Chairman Gutare bemoaned the level of insecurity in the area that led to the cancellation of the festival for the 3rd time.
"Zekula is considered as one of the biggest festivals in northern Ghana as
It attracts well over 200,000 participants each year, " he said.
"Unfortunately brothers and sisters for sometimes now Zekula has not been celebrated, specifically inn2020 and 2021 for obvious reasons and that are COVID-19 and its related protocols.
"And as we thought we were going to enjoy it this year, we could not do it because of the ongoing Bawku Conflicts.
"As we speak reports indicate that as of last night there were still sporadic gunshots all over the place in Bawku.
So clearly our decision to have cancelled the celebration of Zekula within the Bawku area this year was a right decision and we think that we are happy we did that."
State of Nature
Renewed clashes between the two ethnic groups in November 2021 have led to the imposition of a curfew on several occasions in the Upper East regional Town.
Besides the 8 pm to 5 am restrictions, the Government has also placed bans on riding of Motor Bikes and wearing of smokes as security aims of cracking down miscreants.
With its debilitating effect on businesses and free movement, the BDA chairman believes Bawku is now in a state of "State Nature"
"Bawku as we all know is a trading, hub, but now businesses are down, people can no longer even move with the means of movement which is mainly the use of motorbikes even what I'm wearing now I will not be able to wear same dressing in Bawku, which is dressing of this smock," he said.
"And it has created fear and panic almost everywhere. And so it's virtually a Ghost town and nothing goes on there, no Development.
Bawku is almost like the State of nature as described by Thomas Hobbes and that is a horrifying picture I have to paint."
He further appealed to the feuding faction to come to a conclusion that they cannot do away with each other.
"We should come to one irresistible conclusion that mamprusis can never do away with kusasis in Bawku, neither can kusasis ever do away with mamprusis in Bawku for thousands of years to come," he said.
"God brought us and God knows why he brought Kusasis, Mamprusis, Bissas, Mossis and other tribes in that holy place called Bawku.
"God didn't intend for us to come and kill one another just because one person speaks another language and other speaks a different language.
And we all speak each other's language anyway"
According to the BDA, it is going to organise the Zekula Poore in other regions as part of the move to keep Bissas United, expressing hopes that peace will return to Bawku for them to be able to hold the main Zekula Festival next year.
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Some particicpants at the mini Zekula program