Renowned expert in security and international relations, Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, has identified political interference as a significant factor perpetuating the protracted conflict in Bawku, warning that military deployments alone will not yield lasting peace unless these underlying political dynamics are addressed.
Speaking in an interview on Channel One TV on Sunday, July 27, Dr Antwi-Danso argued that the government’s current strategy of deploying security personnel to the area constitutes a temporary fix, rather than a sustainable solution to the crisis.
According to him, there are multiple layers sustaining the conflict, which must be carefully dismantled.
“Military presence, police presence in their numbers will not solve the problem,” he asserted.
“There are several pillars propping up the conflict. It could be history that has not been properly related and we’re adding on and twisting history. It may be the media—the way we handle it. It may be the people themselves or intra-community miscommunication. It could be politics.”
Dr Antwi-Danso was particularly unequivocal in pointing to politics as a major contributor: “In the Bawku case, politics is one of the greatest beams supporting the conflict,” he said.
He cautioned that until these ‘beams’ are removed, security interventions would amount to no more than temporary reprieve.
“So until you remove these props one by one for the conflict triangle to fall, you have done nothing. So using the military often is only a stopgap,” he emphasised.
His remarks come amid renewed violence in Bawku, which has prompted the imposition of curfews by government authorities and the evacuation of students from volatile areas.
The latest unrest is widely believed to stem from the region’s enduring chieftaincy dispute.
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