NATIONAL CHIEF IMAM PRAYS FOR PEACE IN BAWKU (PAGE 38, DEC 9)

The National Chief Imam Sheikh Dr Usman Nuhu Sharubutu, has reiterated the need for the people of Bawku to embrace peace and forgive another in the interest of national development.
Sheikh Sharubutu made the plea in a special prayer for the people of Bawku at the funeral of the late Chief Imam of Bawku, Sheikh Mualimu Mohammed Dantani, last Sunday.
The late Sheikh Dantani, 87, died on Friday, November 27, 2009 and has since been buried in line with Islamic tradition.
Sheikh Nuhu Sharubutu urged the Moslem community in Bawku to continually pray to Allah for peace in the area, since the absence of peace in the community was derailing development.
Present at the funeral were the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, The Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Musa Abdulai, the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mr Adamu Daramani Sakande, the Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, amongst others.
The National Chief Imam, had earlier called on the Bawku Naba, Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, and prayed with him for peace.
At the funeral grounds, four prominent opinion leaders from the Kusasi and Mamprusi tribes, whose voices carry much weight in Bawku, also advised the people of Bawku to know that unless the citizens of the area realised that peace was indispensable, development would continue to elude them.
Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba and Alhaji Osman Khassim, Kusasi opinion leaders and Alhaji Sulemana Yirimea and Alhaji Malik Imoro Salifu, Mamprusi opinion leaders, jointly called on the people to pursue the path of peace.
They bemoaned the fact that while other parts of the country were witnessing rapid development as a result of the peaceful environment prevailing there, Bawku, the once bustling commercial hub of the Upper East Region, was rather retarding as a result of an unending conflict.
The four, therefore, called on the people to bury the hatchet and desist from all acts of violence that had retarded growth and development in the area.
They also called on the people not to take the law into their own hands, but to always report all trouble makers to the security agencies for the necessary action to be taken.
The Upper East Regional Minister said there was no substitute for dialogue in a conflict situation, and, therefore, pleaded with all to get involved in the peace process.
The regional minister later asked the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central to join him in the search for peace in the area, stressing that “we are committed to the peace process and we will together work out a lasting solution to the problem. We are all stakeholders in the search for peace, ” he said.
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, appealed to the people of Bawku not to let their differences and disagreements lead them into war and destruction.
He said the heavy security presence in the area was at great cost to the nation and that the cost of keeping the security personnel in the area could have been diverted to other developmental projects, such as roads and housing in the area, had there been peace.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Bawku, Mr Musah Abdulai, urged the people to use the presence of the eminent Islamic clerics in the town to forgive one another and live in peace.
The Member of Parliament for Bawku, Mr Adamu Daramani, said the conflict in Bawku had discouraged a lot of people from investing in the town in particular and the region as a whole, and, therefore, appealed to the people to leave the past behind them and resolve to live together.