For a very long time the people of Bawku have suffered the consequences of conflict - criminal murders, deprivation, restrictions, orders from security personnel, poverty and its associated misery.

With little choice, the obey before complain martial law type of life had become part of the everyday existence of the people of Bawku in the immediate post-conflict days. Young police personnel and military officers, exercising the powers vested in them by the State, could control people who would ordinarily pass for their mothers, fathers or even grandparents.

This kind of life is by far the opposite of what the people of Bawku enjoyed in the not-too-distant past. Bawku, which was once a vibrant commercial nerve centre of northern Ghana, served (and continues to serve) as the gateway to and from major landlocked West African countries including Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Mauritania. Bawkus proximity to the popular market centre of Cinkasse in northern Togo also made it a business hub and an important revenue spinner for the Municipal Assembly.

It is not surprising, therefore, that for the people of Bawku doing business has always been like second nature. Starting the business, growing it, maintaining and sustaining its growth have always been done their own way. In the wake of the ethnic conflict that hit the area, most of the residents shifted their businesses to Zebilla, Bolgatanga, Navrongo and Sandema in the Upper East Region, as well as Walewale and Tamale in the Northern Region.

The adverse effects of the conflict notwithstanding, the people have now come to terms with themselves and have realized how fast they are losing their businesses to the other districts. Mainly as a result of security measures introduced by Government, and also due to the determination of the people to regain the past glory, Bawku today is gradually bouncing back to life.

It is not surprising, however, that people who have heard of events in Bawku would still harbuor some negative perceptions about the area. Among the numerous curious questions outsiders would be contemplating on is the kind of night life Bawku could possibly have now, particularly when viewed against the numerous dusk-to-dawn curfews that became associated with the Municipality in the recent past.

What this narrative seeks to do, therefore, is to give the curious reader a glimpse of night life in Bawku, as well as an insight into the peoples determination to nurture the fragile peace and rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

It was around 18.00 hours, shortly before Maghreb (or Islamic evening prayer) when I set off from the guest house where I lodged, towards the Municipal Assembly office where I was fortunate to meet the Bawku Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Issahaku Bukari. We engaged in a hearty chat, discussed Bawku and some few influential personalities in the area.

Our conversation over, I headed towards the township walking through the police station, and by 1900 hours I had reached the Presbyterian Hospital, a major referral hospital in the Kusaug area. All these while my attention and purpose was to feel whether the peace that was evident during the day also prevailed at night.

And indeed, it was so. Food venders were briskly doing business. Throughout my rounds, I could count as many as 34 food sale joints in their variety, the most common ones being Indomie and passizeiro (plain rice and groundnut soup), khebab stands, tea and beverage spots. There were also countless music vendors operating from brightly lit kiosks booming with different varieties of music, from traditional Malian to Ghanaian hiplife music, and more. I stopped at one of the food joints, a passizeiro joint where there was a moderate queue. It was not the usual straight line I was used to. This one was a diagonal, crooked arrangement but each person in there knew his or her turn. Most of us were men and I could tell that majority were travelers or visitors just like myself. I requested to take away my food which was served in a generous quantity of broad fresh leaves. Rice with tallia (macaroni) and plenty of meat and fish, all for just Gh 2.00 a meal that would have cost me not less than Gh 5 in Bolgatanga, one of the most expensive towns in Ghana to live in today.

I continued my tour, heading to the main lorry station. Most of the vehicles travelling to places within the region had left then. Bigger buses bound for Kumasi and Accra were being advertised by station boys. I approached one of the men whose name someone mentioned earlier as Mohammed, and so I repeated it. He was a fine gentleman and very courteous. I asked him several questions about Bawku from conflict, peace, curfews, motorbike bans, women using bikes and the motor king tricycle as taxis, which is a very popular means of transport for the people.

Mohammed did not hide his feelings in giving me descriptions and answers for every question or query I made. He was passionately emotional about the effects of conflict. Coming from multiple ethnic lines without formal education, Mohammeds parents were from the two major ethnic groups, Mamprusi and Kusasi. According to him, his immediate paternal grandmother is Moshie from neighbouring Burkina Faso, while his great grandmother (maternal) also had dual ethnicity, Bisa and Mamprusi.

To Mohammed, the ethnic conflict in Bawku was needless because the people from the various ethnic groups in the area were related by blood through inter-marriages over the years. He expressed optimism about Bawku regaining her glory as the business hub of the north. For now, everybody is looking for their daily bread. In previous times you could see people gathered and planning attacks. This time nobody has time for that. If you go to town people are breaking old buildings and putting up new homes and stores. That is what I know Bawku for, Mohammed observed.

Ban on motorbike use and matters arising:

In the wake of the resumption of armed conflict between the two factions in Bawku, the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) announced a number of measures to keep the peace, including placing a ban on the riding of motorcycles in the Municipality. To some of the residents, even though the directive has curtailed their ability to move around, and its concomitant adverse effect on their businesses, they would prefer to live in that situation rather than have the ban on motorbikes lifted only to give an opportunity to mindless heads bent on perpetrating vengeance and criminality.

Mohammeds words and thoughts were not too different from a number of residents I interviewed that night who all expressed their readiness to maintain the peace in Bawku. To the residents things are normal and life must go on. They appreciate the fact that the conflict has retrogressed the development of Bawku from education, healthcare delivery, business, and civil service work, to countless job losses.

The solution to the Bawku crises is not in the lifting of ban on motorbikes, neither is it in the two belligerent ethnic groups (Mamprusis and Kusasis). According to Hajia Mariam, a business woman, the solution to stabilizing the peace in Bawku lies in the hearts of the residents and their commitment to forgive and forget the past. She said even though she does not belong to any of the tribes, she is very much concerned about the maintenance of peace in the area because she has no other home than Bawku. In her words: Bro, Bawku yayi daadi, literally meaning my brother, bawku is a sweet place to live.

After speaking at length to Hajia Mariam, I dashed to a section of the Municipality called Natinga. In years gone by, Natinga (literally meaning Chiefs Town) used to be the seat of the Paramount Chief when the chieftaincy was in the hands of the Mamprusi ethnic group. The area looked much busier and crowded, with people busily engaged in various activities. Here, the base or parliament grouping spots were more patronized as I sighted several of them filled with people engrosses in conversations of all sorts. I went to one of them and patted the shoulder of a guy and introduced myself as a journalist trying to have a feel of life in Bawku. He, in turn, introduced me to some of his colleagues, most of whom smiled back at me before returning to their conversation.

I interrupted the discourse by asking about the willingness of the people of Bawku to sustain and build on the peace in the area. Even before I finished asking the question, about three men responded almost simultaneously: That is exactly what we were discussing. Some told me they did not care about chieftaincy. What they wanted was their daily bread. Massa, fight dont bring food oo! First we could not even sit like this and think about our business, so if we can now do that, we thank Allah. This speakers message was clear. They needed peace in order to do their business and the small that was there they were ready to protect it. I thanked them and set off to the Possum section of town.

Possum is predominantly a settler community dominated by Moshies, but it also has Kassenas, Bisas, Akans and Hausas among other minority ethnic groups. There, I spotted bigger trucks either loading or offloading goods. There was this tall slim man in a cream coloured jalabia Muslim gown worn by men. I guess he was in his late 50s. People around called him Alhaj, obviously a prominent person in the transport business. He was instructing some of the loading boys (in fact men) to load a truck with some empty sacks. I approached him but he asked to be given some time. I patiently waited and when he was done, he attended to me.

He told me several things about Bawku some of which may not be convenient for this project. To Alhaj, Bawku was peaceful now and so business was good. According to him, it was for this reason that commercial drivers currently accepted to load to and from Bawku, something they rejected in previous times. He said they could receive up to five trucks of load from the south every day, and dispatch the same quantity of load from Bawku to the southern part of Ghana. People are briskly doing business and businesses are revamping now all because of the peace in the area, he declared.

Asked whether the ban on the use of motor bikes should be lifted, he said: Me I am old, I dont need motorbike for anything, but if it is lifted it would help those doing business in Cinkasse and other villages around Bawku. According to him, the security apparatus should study the area well and if they realized that a lift of the ban could jeopardise the peace, it should be made to stay. After all, we are living peacefully and doing our business without motors, Alhaj emphasized.

Moving forward:

Having sampled a wide variety of views about maintaining peace in the Bawku township and its environs, one important fact that stood out clearly was (and still is) that the people are fed up with conflict and instability, and want to live in peace.

The immediate past Regional Minister, Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru tactically convinced one of the sides that withdrew from the Bawku Peace Council talks to return to the negotiating table. Even though I may not be privy to the conditions within which the group agreed to continue with negotiations, what is certain is that they are truly willing to be part of the deal to broker peace in Bawku. This willingness is a manifestation of the desire of the people of Bawku for peace.

Again, the peoples indifference about whether or not to lift the ban on motorbike usage is another clear indication that they are willing to maintain the peace in the area in order to bridge the development gap that has set in as a result of their own actions and inactions. Without a shred of doubt, the people of Bawku are more than willing to recapture the towns past glory as the business centre of the North, and so everybody is doing their part to maintain the peace they have consistently enjoyed during the past three years.

Investors and business entities both from within and without who folded up as a result of the conflict can now count on the peoples genuine commitment to sustain the peace and go back to continue with their businesses. Financial institutions such as Barclays Bank have shown the way by resuming business in Bawku, as civil and public service workers and business entities who constitute the Banks major clients have returned to the area to take advantage of the opportunities that abound there.

Mr Issahaku Bukari, the Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, has assured the business community about the sustainability of the peace and stability the area is currently enjoying. To him, there is absolute peace now and the people are ready to protect the peace. The residents of Bawku, no matter which side they belong, are continuing to demonstrate how prepared they are to sustain the peace in the Municipality.

The Government through the Ministry of Local Government, development-oriented NGOs, the business community, diplomatic missions in Ghana and other development partners must take keen interest in the people of Bawku and devise ways and means of helping them to rebuild their lives, homes and hopes for the development of the Municipality, the Region and the nation at large.

(A GNA feature by Eric K. Amoh)