Majority Leader and MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has issued a stern warning to his colleagues in Parliament, urging them to desist from politicising the volatile Bawku conflict, which has seen renewed bloodshed in recent weeks.
Speaking in Parliament during debate on the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review, Ayariga condemned attempts by former Defence Minister and NPP MP for Bimbilla, Dominic Nitiwul, to blame the government for the escalating insecurity in Bawku. Nitiwul had accused the current administration of failing to release critical funds and logistics to the military to contain the crisis.
Ayariga, visibly agitated by the comment, did not mince words.
“I have restrained myself from commenting on Bawku… But I beg you, don’t politicise Bawku. Let’s be sensitive to the volatile security situation in Bawku.”
The Bawku Central lawmaker reminded Parliament that the conflict in the area dates as far back as 1957 and is rooted in decades-long ethnic and chieftaincy tensions. He stressed that no government—past or present—can claim to have clean hands or single-handedly solve the crisis.
“This is not a partisan issue. It’s a humanitarian and security emergency that has claimed lives. We must speak with care. Don’t play politics with bloodshed.”
Ayariga’s comments come in the wake of two major violent incidents linked to the Bawku conflict: the murder of a Kusasi chief in Asawase, Kumasi, and the fatal shooting of two students at Nalerigu Senior High School by unknown gunmen. Both attacks have deepened fears that the conflict may be spilling beyond Bawku into other parts of the country.
During the same parliamentary session, Nitiwul also disputed Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s claim that 3,500 motorbikes had been distributed to security agencies to enhance mobility and rapid response in conflict-prone areas.
But Ayariga hit back, noting that logistics alone won’t solve the crisis without a sustained political, cultural, and community-level reconciliation process.
“We are not in a football match. This is not NDC vs. NPP. This is about lives. About people getting shot in their homes and schools. If we truly care, let’s work together.”
He further disclosed that government, security chiefs, and community leaders are engaged in intense behind-the-scenes efforts to restore calm to the area.
The Bawku conflict, primarily between the Mamprusi and Kusasi ethnic groups, has resisted decades of peace efforts. Recent violence has once again tested the capacity of state institutions to respond to complex, identity-based conflicts.
Click the link Puretvonline.com | WhatsApp Channel to join the WhatsApp channel
GOT A STORY?
Contact/WhatsApp: +233243201960 or Email: manuelnkansah33@gmail.com