The Chereponi conflict between Konkombas and Chokosis has been raging so fiercely that ,rather than extinguish it, efforts made by the government and well-meaning opinion leaders seem to madden its flames. What factors, at all, account for this year-long conundrum that has thrown the government of Ghana into bewilderment? In his rejoinder to the Graphic Online article titled “Two jailed 10 years for roles in Konkomba, Chokosi conflict,†Mawandor Binyam, a Konkomba student, provides a comprehensive analysis of the immediate, as well as the remote factors behind the conflict, and a synopsis of the different roles being played by the two combating tribes in the year-long clashes. He calls for the arrest of the Ghanaian reggae musician and radio presenter of Zylofon FM, Abubakar Ahmed (aka Blakk Rasta), to assist in investigations, and recommend to the government as well as the stakeholders to take certain firm actions that will help quench the flames and bring lasting peace between the two groups. Below is Mr. Binyam’s article.
RE: TWO JAILED 10 YEARS FOR ROLES IN KONKOMBA, CHOKOSI CONFLICT
By Mawandor Binyam
E-mail: [email protected]
28th May, 2019
Introduction: Of all the tribes in Northern Ghana, with the exception of the Basares, no other tribe has really had close affinity with Konkombas like the Chokosis. In fact, the relationship between the two ethnic groups was, once upon a time, that of brotherly peace and tranquility. The strength of their relational ties could be judged by the number of centuries it took the two tribes to build together and to get into each other. And for the same centuries too, their friendships had been rewarded with open trade and unrestricted marriages blessed with cross-tribal or inter-ethnic relatives. Previously, they found security in each other, but since June 2018, the centuries-long solid relationship has been shattered and become that of deadly hostility. What are the remote and the immediate causes of the clashes? Why are the efforts designed to put out the flames not yielding any significant results?
The growth and development of the clashes
In June 2018, it began as a minor clash over two farm plots which resulted in the death of two Konkombas. Then Konkomba Chiefs and KOYA called for ceasefire and dialogue, with KOYA appealing to opinion leaders from both tribes to give peace a chance.
In early January 2019, a second clash erupted. Chokosis were the first to torch Konkomba communities and, again, killed Konkombas. Here too, KOYA, MoFN, and KONSU called for ceasefire and dialogue through press releases and cautioned the media to be careful in its reportage. The government imposed curfews and set up the Fact Finding Committee (FFC) to investigate into the matter and to advice the government on measures to be taken.
The Blakk Rasta Warrior Title: It was here that the renowned Ghanaian reggae musician and radio presenter of Zylofon FM, Abubakar Ahmed, aka Blakk Rasta, deluded by the phantom results of the first few clashes, mounted the air waves of the national radio station to hype Chokosis as the undefeated warriors of all history. It was here ‘the Professor of History’ gave his ‘inaugural lecture’ to the Ghanaian audience on the meaning of Chokosi, “twa ko si†meaning unstoppable.
What, at all, motivated this mighty star to stoop so low to disappoint his fans? Why did he not take advantage of his gifts speech, music and influence to fight through the air waves the somber clouds that hung above the horizon? Since when did Ghana open the game for warrior titles and trophies? Does Rasta enjoy the scene of bloodbaths from ethnic clashes? Was he engaging in a business of self-promotion as a supporter of Chokosis, or was he hired by them to mount the air waves to their ‘advantage’? Only heaven knows.
No one is invincible, except God: Quite frankly, history testifies that kings and kingdoms rise and fall. No kingdom, or nation, or tribe, or individual is invincible, except God and His kingdom. They may rise today, but they will fall tomorrow. Even so with political parties! They will not rule forever! And usually, pride is the stumbling block. Let’s get this stumbling block out of the way. Babel, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, each rose and fell with their kings.
Yet, the radio presenter’s misguided statement has not failed to produce effect, undesirable results.
First, it ballooned further the ego of Chokosis and emboldened them to drag Konkombas into an exercise they are reluctant to engage in, considering the consequences. And this was later recited by Chokosis in their press releases in the subsequent clashes.
Second, it sent a signal to Konkombas in the territory that what they regarded as a child’s play is a battle for the warrior title/trophy, at least from the perspectives of Blakk Rasta and the Chokosis. One wonders whether Blakk Rasta is aware that the right to freedom of speech has its limits.
On March 15, 2019, no sooner had the Fact Finding Committee submitted its report than the third clash erupted. And why? That a Togolese Chokosi by name Fahad Jababu Sulley, was shot dead in Nawieku, a Chokosi village during a wedding (or graduation) ceremony by an unknown individual during curfew hours. The Chokosis alleged that Konkombas from the Nangbong community were responsible for the incident. And as a result, they mobilized forces against the Konkombas in the Nangbong village, and eventually torched it and other Konkomba communities, extending the devastation into other districts. In speaking to Joy news on the renewed clash, the District Chief Executive (DCE), Hon. Tahiru Abdul-Razak reported the following:
“Around 10.00 pm to 11:00 pm, eeh, a community known as Nawieku, who are Chokosis, were having a wedding and then the, eeh, Konkombas from Nangbong came and attacked them. But as to this morning what caused the attack, I don’t know. But I heard the Konkombas went and surrounded a community known as… [interruption] which is also closer to a Konkomba community. As I speak, I have seventy-five (75) military men on the ground, police … [not clear enough] as I speak with you.â€
This was where Hon. Tahiru made a grave mistake. Here was a biased and unverified reportage which contradicted the testimonies of other Chokosis and Media reports. The DCE showed that for him, his inclinations to natural ties are stronger than his political vows and obligations. Here he confirmed Konkombas’ allegations against him as being discriminatory in regard to the conflict. Konkombas also alleged that the DCE was not only engaging in the business of supplying arms to Chokosis, his car was being used to aid Chokosis in attacking them.
I believe it was in the early stage of this clash that Ya Naa, the Paramount Chief of the Dagbon Traditional Council (DTC) sensed some danger and invited the ‘Paramount’ Chiefs of Konkombas and Chokosis to his palace and counseled them to ceasefire. But the overlord himself was slighted! Just when Chokosis were declaring themselves victors, the ‘game’ turned! This bruised the ego of Chokosis. It was here that the irritated Abdul Samed, the ‘leader’ of the Tafo Branch of the ‘Anufor Progressive Union', in a press release disrespectfully sanctioned the nation’s president himself to either relieve the Defense Minister of his duty as a condition for Chokosis to ceasefire, or withdraw the security personnel from the conflict zone to allow for a face to face combat between the two tribes. But when MoFN (Movement for Nkpakpaando) shot back in a counter press release and called for his arrest, intimating that Samed’s statement had the tendency of throwing the nation out of balance into genocidal spasms, he came back to publicly apologize. When it was reported that Matthew Gonlan, one of some six-member gang of hired foreign fighters, was arrested by the security, and the others missing, then the third clash died down. It ended in an unnatural way, signifying that ‘men’ had only gone on recess. Notice that each successive clash becomes more pronounced in magnitude and devastations, and significant in territorial scope than the previous one.
On a certain Saboba market day some Chokosis, knowing that some Konkombas had gone to Saboba, plotted another attack. Fortunately, the security team, on their patrol operations discovered scores of armed Chokosis who were on the move to attack a Konkomba community. They were able to arrest some twelve (12) to fourteen (14) or so of them. This incident made headlines, pushing the planned attacks into the unknown future. Yet, in all these, there has been no single record of the arrest of armed Konkombas plotting to attack Chokosis.
It was during this time of seeming calm that the President and Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces himself showed up in Chereponi during his tour to the North East region! Two days later, Konkombas were at a funeral when some Chokosis attacked them again without any provocation known to them, torching Konkomba villages again. Here is a cause for worry. When at all will these Chokosis give Konkombas peace? Now it was time for Konkombas to give Chokosis a retaliatory heckle. It was heaven that saved the Chereponi District Coordinating Director.
The Narrow escape of the District Coordinating Director: The whole world was wondering what had happened to the officer who had been attacked on the way and whose car was reduced to ashes. There was breathtaking silence as to the identity of the victim and his state. The target, I believe, was the District Chief Executive, since, at least to the Konkombas, he no longer showed himself to be the DCE, but a war mongering Chokosi in the territory. Even though it was reported that the security came to the scene to rescue the officer, everyone wanted to know the state of affairs. Later, it turned out that the officer was none other than the DCD himself whom it was alleged that some Konkombas shot at. But he himself, responded to a radio interview while at the hospital, and indicated that he was responding to treatment from gun wounds which he had sustained, even to the surprise of the interviewer. Thank God that it was not the archer’s envenomed arrow.
Then the story would have been different because the archer himself does not have the antidote to its poison. And who knows what impact it would have made into the conflict, knowing that the DCD himself is not a Chokosi? It was this occurrence that sent a caution to the DCE himself that his own life was in real peril.
Tahiru calls for increased security: In a radio interview granted one security officer prior to the deployment of the special task force team of Commandos to beef-up the security situation in the district, the officer expressed worry that Konkombas were “rampaging†the district. When the DCE himself was called on to speak on the situation, he stammered through and affirmed that the security officer had used “the right adjectiveâ€, yes, “rampaging†and that “two of my communities are currently being attacked by Konkombas.†Meanwhile, when asked to tell what measures he had put in place to ensure calm, he mentioned that he had already spoken to his “Bosses,†i.e. the Regional Ministers of the North East and the Northern regions and they assured him of the increased security personnel.
I tell you, I would not want to be a DCE, under the circumstances in which Hon. Tahiru found himself. This is a warning to political leaders. They are to be fathers to all, not to their tribe or party folks only. Even the journalist wondered at the absurdity of the DCE’s position that the security were to offer “protection†for both the “attacked Chokosis and the attacking Konkombas.†The “attacked†had been pushed to the extreme, and had seen the utter hopelessness of their case, that even amidst the tight security, the DCE still called for more.
See at what price we are now willing to pay for the peace which, on several occasions, was offered just free of charge on a round table dialogue! Mangled peace and tranquility which once existed between the two ethnic groups, wasted bullets and money, stagnated socio-economic and religio-political activities, constant fear and insecurity, devastated lives and property, and migration of thousands to neighbouring countries. The real solution is not the calls for increased security to avert the furry of just a few provoked Konkombas in the territory. Blakk Rasta’s misguided statement has produced nothing but incalculable losses!
The DCE has shown himself to be partial in his reportage. He does not report when Chokosis attack Konkombas and torch communities. But when Konkombas mount reprisal attacks on Chokosis, that is when you see him running around to seek for increased security apparatus and from one media house to another to gain audience. It is only shortsighted political leaders that allow the winds of discrimination to destroy the fortunes of their political career. Who knows whether Tahiru himself, or another Chokosi would, one day, vie for Parliamentary or presidential candidacy? And why do you destroy the confidence of over a million Konkombas in you or your brother? Hon. Tahiru’s life is not very safe, Mr. President!
It is not for nothing that, amidst this clash, the Defense Minister himself, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul has come to call for peace.
Let the Chiefs and leaders of our Chokosi brothers be warned to heed the Minister’s advice to stop pushing at those Konkombas. Konkombas will NEVER attack Chokosis unprovoked! “If the clouds are full of rain, they [surely will] empty themselves upon the earth.†Eccl 11:3. Let us stop this fools’ play thing and show respect for the lives of our subjects and the peace of the nation.
Who, but the Chokosi Chiefs and leaders themselves should know that the Konkomba man is not a debater? He specializes in the science of farming, particularly yam production. The late Ubor Binyam I, Konkomba Chief of Lungni, is reputed of have said, “Truth is the Konkomba man’s weapon, and archery his gameâ€! It is this ‘weakness’ that makes him slow to wrath. When he begs for peace, do not treat him as a coward. He must be listened too and taken seriously.
What the core issues of the conflict are: There are three major reasons for the conflict and religion has no play in them.
The torching of communities, the persistent calls for the withdrawal of political leaders as well as the blames heaped on the government, and the unending chants of “we are warriors†in press conferences and on the social media reveal that the clashes are over (1) land ownership, (2) the quest for political power and recognition in the Chereponi district, and (3) the pursuit of “the Blakk Rasta warrior title/trophyâ€.
The clashes have nothing to do with religion. The claim by Chokosis that the recent one is between Muslims and non-Muslims is a clandestine attempt to divert attention from the subject matter of the conflict. How quickly a drowning man grabs a floating straw with the hope of securing survival! Let’s face the reality, the conflict is between Konkombas and Chokosis in the district, not between Konkombas and Muslims. Islam is not a mono-tribal religion but hetero-tribal. It has adherents, including Konkombas. At best, it will be appropriate for the leaders of the Islamic faith in Ghana to caution Chokosis to desist from such unfounded statements.
Let me address some critical historical connections that have been overlooked.
The ‘Mabengbaan’ Paradox: Once upon a time, when former MP, Hon. Moses Mabengbaan hinted in a Parliamentary discourse that “Konkombas are like the Israelites,†and that “if you kill one Konkomba, you will pay back with a thousand lives,†he was hushed by the House to a suspension penalty. He should have been trusted as one who knows his people and was representing them. But he was treated as one who had attributed so much ‘glory’ to them. And what effect has it produced? Intimidation! Nine Members of Parliament, including two Ministers (one a Deputy Regional Minister, and the other a Minister for Defense) and eight MMDCEs have been dumb in a conflict that involved their people and has raged for a full year! This is what I mean: “One man spoke in Parliament when he was alone, and nine have been dumb!†Ironic, isn’t it? Why?
Follow me closely: Even when the opportunity presented itself for them to call for a review of the Constitutional clause that has furnished the Dagbon Traditional Council with traditional authority over Konkombas, Konkomba legislators were quite.
Who else were they expecting to tell the House of Parliament that the time is due for Konkombas to have their own traditional independence and council? The Konkomba senators were in dead silence when decisions were being made to create new regions. I am pretty convinced that the Paramount Chiefs of Dagbon and Mamprusis wondered at the silence of the Konkomba legislators. This silence made it possible for Chereponi to be carved into the North East region, creating the impression that the Chereponi district which once belonged to Konkombas has been taken from them, leaving Konkombas in the Northern region. It seems like “a dream come true†that has emboldened Chokosis.
Konkombas versus the Government of Ghana
Konkombas in the valley of indecision over Western Togoland: In fact, the agitations for an independent Western Togoland present a strong temptation to Konkombas to choose where to belong. Though undecided yet, Konkombas are beginning to feel that their plight in matters pertaining to traditional authority and identity, property rights and justice, education and health, agriculture and transport, business and banking, girl-child education and women empowerment are of no consequence to the government of Ghana.
Konkombas are going through real struggles. Marginalization is their lot. They are treated as foreigners. No other major ethnic group in Ghana can boast of being more Ghanaian than Konkombas, yet it is obvious that they have been the number one victims of marginalization. In spite of their significant contributions to the nation’s food production and GDP, what policies have been made by the government to help the yam farmer? And look at the numerous aids cocoa and other cash crop farmers receive in the country. Even the cocoa farmer’s children are on scholarship schemes. Yet no one lobby’s for any support for the yam producer.
What about our education? The Konkomba child’s ability to travel by foot over many kilometers to school for years and to still make it to the university is a miracle. Educational facilities are inadequate, substandard, and inaccessible. Look at our roads. What about the distribution of transport facilities, Metro Mass Buses? Not a single Konkomba community can boast of a tertiary institution! What about health facilities? Even workers in Saboba and Kpassa travel on dusty, deplorable roads to Yendi and Nkwanta respectively to have access to banking services! What is the state of the girl child education among Konkombas? How many Konkomba women have been able to rise to the height of Assembly Woman to match the over eighteen men MPS and MMDCEs? And see how the Konkomba man who is fighting for survival and security of his land struggles in the court of law without a defender!
Defending Konkombas in the court of law: In the heat of (and amidst) the ongoing conflict, two of five Konkombas were arrested and processed to the Tamale High Court. And they have been condemned to a jail term of five (5) years each with hard labour. What was their offense? That those ‘unschooled’ Konkombas pleaded ‘guilty’ for unlawful possession of firearms in a ‘state recognized’ conflict! The timing of the judgment is wrong, and the ruling biased, the combined effects of which will undermine efforts to resolve the conflicts and bring about lasting peace. “The wheels of justice,†they say, “should run slowly, but they must be sure†or else another ‘Jesus’ may be condemned to death.
Has anyone ever wondered why the Judge of all Creation does not condemn the sinner rashly? It is a grave mistake to have rushed the judicial process to condemn those innocent, ignorant, and defenseless ‘Ghanaian citizens’ under the prevailing circumstances because they ‘pleaded guilty’. The whole thing begs questions against judicial proceedings in a nation that seeks to pursue freedom and justice for its citizenry.
Where are they? Where is Fahad Jababu Sulley, the Togolese, whom the Chokosis claimed that he was shot in a night wedding or graduation ceremony at Nawieku by Konkombas? Where is Matthew Gonlan, one of a six-men foreign (or Togolese) Chokosi gang who had been hired to assist in the fight against Konkombas, and who was arrested by the security? Only God knows the actual number of Chokosis hired to fight against Konkombas. Where are the twelve (12) to fourteen (14) or so armed Chokosis who were arrested by the security team over issues relating to the conflict?
Death of Konkombas: Anyone who has followed the clashes closely would admit that in all four clashes, Chokosis have been the first to kill Konkombas and to torch their communities. Yet, the security personnel assist them either directly or otherwise to further the torching of other Konkomba communities. Two, and later five, totaling seven, Konkombas have been killed by the security personnel, yet the media reports that only two or three persons have been confirmed dead in the clashes. In the third and the present clashes, Konkombas were and are being killed in their homes by the ‘protector’. The soldier kills those he should protect, the judge condemns those he should defend, and both release those they should sanction!
The role of the government in all the post-independence conflicts involving Konkombas have been against them. During the 1994 Konkomba-Nanumba (Guinea fowl) war, the Military, armed with government warrant by former president J. J. Rawlings under the NDC regime, killed several Konkombas and burnt nearly all Konkomba communities in the then northern region. No one speaks for Konkombas. One would have thought that a new political regime, i.e. the NPP, would do (or would have done) better. But alas, the on-going clashes are no exception, even under the watch care of his Excellency, Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo.
What is the purpose of representative democracy? This was an opportunity for the government to have summoned all Konkomba and Chokosi Parliamentarians, MMDCEs and ‘Paramount’ Chiefs to seek their counsel and to task them to speak to their people. How do you hope to dispossess Konkombas of their own land through warfare?
The case of the scholar: The Konkomba professor is confused. As for him, he is not sure whether he should write or speak. His ink remains intact in the fountain while his people are suffering the pangs of injustice, robbery and oppression.
The Konkomba man is lazy – in fact, very, very lazy, to talk. Listen to him when he speaks. Accept his calls for peace and move on. Or else the best way he can address is plight is through his bow and his poison arrow. See the massive devastations that have dotted the nation because the schoolmen of Nkpakpaando have been silent, or at best slow to set the records straight.
Wisdom in the silence of the Northern tribes: Konkombas are aware of the agitations being caused by Chokosis all over the country by their frequent references to Konkombas’ conflict with the Nanumbas, the Dagombas, and the Gonjas. And what do Chokosis hope to achieve? The sympathy of those tribes? These references present a deadly temptation that if ventured into will produce catastrophic results.
The silence of the tribes is golden, replete with overtones of wisdom, that they have discerned the motives of Chokosis and remained unmoved.
In a technical sense, there is no recorded history known to Konkombas in connection with a war they engaged in with Dagombas and Gonjas. Their involvement in the 1994 Konkomba-Nanumba (Guinea fowl) war was uncalled for! When the opportunity presented itself for them to show themselves loyal to the principles of freedom and justice to independent Ghana, they did not notice it and were carried away by the subtle winds of tribalism.
Here was an opportunity for the two tribes to show their unbending regard for peace. And alas, see the needless devastations that attended this mistake.
Chokosis should desist from this behavior. It will not help them. I call on all tribes to ignore the temptation. Let the Nanumbas, the Dagombas, and the Gonjas be informed that apart from the Chereponi district, Konkombas in other parts of the country are living peacefully with their Chokosi brothers. They are the ones ignoring all efforts to curb the situation. So they try to find multiple ways to earn the Warrior title.
The best Chokosis can do is to heed Ya Naa’s counsel for a ceasefire.
A comparison of the roles played by the two tribes in the conflict
Permit me to present a synopsis of the different roles played by the two tribes since June, 2018, to help the audience appreciate the contributions of the two tribes to the armed conflict.
S/NO
CHOKOSIS
KONKOMBAS
1.
Have prided themselves as “the undefeated warriors of history, and†robbers “who have no respect for hard work but use force to take what does not belong to them.â€
Have the reputation to be courageous, hardworking and peace-loving. Konkombas are fighting for what belongs to them, their land. They are not robbing anybody.
2.
Have prided themselves as having united with Dagombas and the white colonial masters in the trading of Konkomba slaves prior to the nation’s independence.
Have prided themselves as a tribe that has consistently resisted unjust oppression and has had nothing to do in support of slave trade, or condoned the unjust exploitation of Africans in the past nor the present. Yet the Konkomba man wonders when he will have total emancipation in independent Ghana.
3.
Initiate all the attacks and have been arrested over planned attacks against Konkombas
Resist and sometimes counter the attacks but neither planned any attacks nor suffered arrests over same
4.
Have always been the first to kill Konkombas and to torch Konkomba communities
Kill Chokosis and torch Chokosi communities in retaliation
5.
Are responsible for the extension of the conflict to other districts, Saboba, Yunyoo, and Bunkprugu districts
Are responsible for localizing the conflict to only the Chereponi district. Konkombas are still living peacefully with the Chokosis in Saboba, Yunyoo, and Bunkprugu districts. Even when it was alleged that Konkombas torched a certain Chokosi man’s house or barn in Chamba, Chokosis themselves confirmed that it was rather Konkombas who helped to put out the fire(s)!
6.
Have continually made unfounded allegations and often times contradicted themselves as to the immediate causes of the clashes
Have maintained consistency as to the remote as well as the immediate causes of the clashes
7.
Have heaped unfounded blames of the clashes on the government.
Have made justifiable blames of the clash on the government
8.
First to make unjustified calls for the withdrawal of a political figure (the Defense Minister – a Konkomba) on the basis of his tribe.
Made justified calls for the withdrawal of a political figure (the District Chief Executive – a Chokosi) because of his biased reportage
9.
Have called for the withdrawal of security personnel to allow for open combat between the two ethnic groups
Have made several calls for peace.
10.
Have involved foreigners (Togolese) in the fight. Have not involved any foreigners
11.
Have attempted to involve or incite other tribes into the conflict
Have not involved any other tribes
12.
Have attempted to weave religious elements into the conflict, claiming that the conflict is about Muslims against non-Muslims and soliciting the sympathy of all Muslims in Ghana. They, not Konkmbas, despised the sanctity of the fast of Ramadan by launching unprovoked attacks on the latter in the season. At best, they should have taken advantage of it to pray for peace and to call for lasting unity between the two tribes.
Have great respect for religion, nothing against Islam. There are Konkombas who are Muslims too, and who are observing the fast of Ramadan. Konkombas were performing a funeral in the season when Chokosis launched unprovoked attacks on them. This has nothing to do with Islam.
13. Were the first to organize a demonstration against the Interior Minister’s order over the banning of the use of motor bikes in Saboba and Chereponi districts as a way of curbing the conflict in the district. They argued that the order is a deliberate attempt by the government to prevent their warriors from going to fight Konkombas.
Later resisted the Interior Minister’s order over the banning of the use of motor bikes as a way of curbing the conflict in Saboba and Chereponi districts. Konkombas in the Saboba district are not fighting the Chokosis, therefore the ban does not really make ‘sense’ to them.
Alas! The contrast is very clear. Rather than implicate them as a war-loving ethnic group, the analysis shows clearly that the sample of Konkombas in the four affected districts have cleared themselves and vindicated Konkombas worldwide as a peace-loving people.
The way forward
Though constrained by the time and space latitudes of the reader and the publisher, I solicit your permission, if you wish, to have me make some recommendations that will help save the year-long situation.
1. I strongly recommend the arrest of Abubakar Ahmed (aka Blakk Rasta) for investigations, for undermining our collective efforts to curb the clashes.
2. I appeal to the Ministries responsible for Justice and Internal security to address the anomalies relating to (a) the jailing of civilian fighters arrested on the battlefield, and (b) the killing of civilians by the military. Divine wisdom mingles justice with mercy. Rather than rush to undermine efforts to quench the flames, judicial processes should churn patiently to help it. The security personnel are not terrorists. The civilians they are killing rather need their protection.
3. God is the Konkomba man’s witness that he is doing his best to keep the conflict localized until it dies where it began, the Chereponi district. It is not between Konkombas and the other northern tribes. It is not between Muslims and non-Muslims. It is not between Konkombas and Muslims. The conflict is not between Ghanaians and Togolese. Chokosis should face facts. The leaders of the various groups that are being appealed to should be positive in their dealings with this matter.
4. I humbly suggest that, for security purposes and the benefit of grassroot participation of all in the governing process, the young DCE be advised to strongly apologize to Konkombas, and be made to step down so that a more humble but courageous and impartial person who understands the two groups and whose commitment to the principles of freedom and justice is firm be made to act in his capacity. Let the transition be done tactfully.
Quite frankly, Tahiru has won the heart and admiration of Chokosis. At best, he is their hero. And that is understandable. My caution, therefore, is Hon. Tahiru should not be left alone to his fate, for that will be too disturbing to the young man, and offensive to our Chokosi brothers. He should be engaged elsewhere (outside the district) where he still can be of service to the nation. I do not believe that he is a failure. Many of us, under similar circumstances, would have done worse than Tahiru.
I pray that the Almighty God and Creator Himself in the highest heaven will give us the Spirit of forgiveness to counter the burden of bitterness and to heal the traumas created through the year-long confrontations. May He tune the hearts of Konkombas and Chokosis to fall in love with each other, and bring back to life the solid peace and tranquility which once existed between us. Dear God, please help us. Amen.
, December 11, 2019