Solving Bawku conflict, cue from Chandigarh, Andorra, Bosnia Herzegovina (2)

The frist part of this article was published on Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Another entity with interesting leadership is the Country of Andorra in Europe that interestingly always has two Heads of State concurrently. One of the two Heads of State is the sitting President of France and the other is the Bishop of Urgell.

The Andorrans are a distinct group of people who have existed since ancient times. Its population in 2023 was 80,856. They are said to be the last of three states which were formed as a buffer to stop the Muslim invasion of Spain. Their King, the Count of Foix, became the King of France but the Andorrans maintained their independence and identity.

Also, Andorra was ruled in parts by some Bishops of the Catholic Church. Some Arab invaders trying to conquer Spain killed some bishops. Parts of the city were destroyed by the Arabs in the year 793.

The city was reconstructed and ruled by the Urgel Church by the Counts. In the year 1278, the current State of Andorra was formed through a treaty between the Bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix, who later became the King of France.

After the French Revolution and the abolition of the French Monarchy, the ensuing French President also became a co-head of the State of Andorra in addition to the Bishop of Urgell.

So currently, Andorra is a full-fledged nation with two heads of state.

Bosnia Herzegovina

The third example of a country with multiple Heads of State at the same time is the country of Bosnia Herzegovina.

This country has not two but three Presidents. The country had suffered a major ethnic upheaval that resulted in major ethnic cleansing between its different ethnic groups. The conflict was far worse than anything Bawku was facing.

One of the mechanisms that was used in solving the conflict was to form the unique presidential system where the presidency is made up of the ethnic groups that make up the country and which were fighting among themselves: a Bosnian, a Serb and a Croatian.

This unique arrangement appears to have satisfied the different segments of society and also led to peace and progress.

Having given these examples, however, I am by no means saying that the methods used in any of them should be used for Bawku. Not only are these three using different methods but they are all unique.

Furthermore, Bawku’s situation is traditional. Chandigarh’s is political, Andorra’s situation is both religious and political and a handover from history while Bosnia Herzegovina’s is an ethnic resolution by higher powers of a big conflict.

However, what is clear from all these examples is that they have had ingenuous ways to solve seemingly unsurmountable problems by finding unique ways to satisfy multiple polities in their societies by sharing power when actually sharing none.

In trying to find a solution to the Bawku conflict, certain things are clear.

• Bawku is inhabited by both Kusasis and Mamprusis

• Both groups have lived there for aeons

• Bawku is at the heart of Kusasi identity and is the central point for many Kusasi towns with many of them looking up to Bawku for leadership

•Bawku is also a major centre for Mamprusis and close to the tomb marking where the founder of the Mamprusi, Dagomba and Nanumba kingdoms is said to have vanished. It thus holds a unique value to not only the Mamprusis nor their junior brothers, the Dagombas and Nanumbas, but also to some extent their sisters, the Moshie. The Nayiri has also had its subjects in Bawku for centuries. The Mamprusis in Bawku have also always looked up to the Nayiri.

• It is immaterial that Kusasi used to be acephalous because their acephalous nature did not mean they had no identity or linkages and as all human beings they metamorphosed.

It is very clear that both the Kusasis and the Mamprusis hold Bawku dear and cannot give it up. Furthermore, the Mamprusis and Kusasis in Bawku have lived together for centuries and built their lives and the town for centuries and will continue to live together for years to come unless gravity acts differently on some and sends some into the air and leaves some on the ground. Hence, what is happening now is in no one’s interest and has cost all a lot.

My suggestion for coming to a compromise and peace in Bawku is to recognise the unique history of Bawku and to recognise the claims of all its polities and their interests.

A compromise that will recognise the interest of both polities and find a way of letting them work together and that will turn Bawku from an example of all that is wrong into another of the few examples of multi-archies in the world that people will want to travel to.

This unique experiment can let Bawku leverage its name recognition to push its unique situation into a vast tourism potential.

My proposal is to adopt something traditional, but similar and yet different in multiple ways to the multi-Archies already listed by having two chiefs in Bawku who will act together but have different roles that together form a seamless whole.

There will be a co-Chief (Bawku Naba for the Kusasis) who will oversee Kusasi interests and be a link between Bawku and all Kusasi towns, and another co-Chief (Bawku Naba who will be for the Mamprusis and will look up to the Nayiri.

The two will act together on Bawku affairs and oversee Bawku, with the Mamprusi one bringing the Mamprusis under control and the Kusasi one bringing the Kusasis under control.

The nitty-gritty of how this diarchy will be run can be addressed by traditional authorities or eminent chiefs that can be appointed to mediate on this matter.

When a vacancy occurs in any of these two, the other side will continue to play their assigned role as the other side goes through their processes to install the overlord of their side.

To heal the obvious wounds that have been created by this conflict, a truth and reconciliation mechanism can be set up to deal with it.

A festival of unity can be instituted to be celebrated yearly to celebrate this unity and serve as a reminder to the people of Bawku and probably to the entire nation that there are unifying ways to solve divisive problems.

The resolution of this conflict should be left to the traditional authorities to solve as the politicians take a back seat.

Though Bawku seems to have become an albatross around our necks as a nation, portraying not just Bawku but the entire northern Ghana in a bad light, Bawku can become a beacon of hope for all traditional authorities in Ghana and beyond, that there is a united way to share and put Bawku on the map as an example to be celebrated.

— The writer is a civil and water resources engineer with expertise in Conflict resolution and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. He holds degrees in Civil Engineering, Water Resources Development and an MBA in Corporate Governance.
E-mail: notallan@yahoo.com