IN the words of legendary Martin Luther King Junior, “real peace is not merely the absence of some negative force – tension, confusion, or law –but real peace is the presence of some positive force – justice, goodwill, and brotherhood.
The absence of war in the Northern Region does not therefore imply the presence of peace, since there are conflict undertones that need to be addressed.
Like many other regions, the Northern Region is still battling with some conflicts that have threatened to mar the social fabric and hospitality of residents of this region.
From Bimbilla, Buipe, Bunkpurugu, Yendi, Gusheigu to Zabzugu, one can pinpoint one or two issues that have been a bone of contention either among or between ethnic groups.
The Dagbon crisis appears to be one of the most prominent of such issues due to the interventions that the state has made towards bringing a closure to this matter.
It is an undeniable fact that this conflict has dealt a big blow to the development of the Dagbon traditional area, due to the absence of sustained leadership, direction and concerted efforts.
It is in the light of this, that the Ghana chapter of the West African Network for Peace-building (WANEP) thought it wise to build the capacities of youth and women groups in Dagbon to engage each other in peace-building efforts towards restoring real peace in Dagbon – one that would be driven by brotherliness and mutual understanding.
The first of such training programmes took place in Tamale recently and was supported by the Canadian High Commission, Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Sustainable Peace Initiative.
“We at WANEP-Ghana are looking for avenues to help build bridges among the people of Dagbon as a way to promote peace,” Mr Justin Bayor, the National Co-ordinator of WANEP-Ghana stated in an interview.
“What we are doing at these training programmes is to let the people see the other side of conflicts, that is the opportunity to strengthen the relationships that exists between them by addressing the grey areas in a very harmonious way,” he added.
Indeed, targeting the youth is more than appropriate. Of course, conflicts would have died long ago along with their architects if not for the continuation of these conflicts by the youth. It is the youth who are the instruments used by adults to perpetuate conflicts.
They are indoctrinated with hate and ethnocentric sentiments, thereby preparing them to pursue the conflicts started by their great grandfathers, even when these conflicts become irrelevant to modern times.
Any effort aimed at restoring lasting peace to Dagbon must, hence, seek to involve the youth.
In the opinion of Ms Nuala Lawlor, the Counsellor on Political, Economic Relations and Public Affairs to the Canadian High Commission, the inclusion of women in such training programmes is also in the right direction.
“While women and children are often the most vulnerable during times of conflict, this is not to say that they cannot be the most powerful agents for peace,” she noted, adding that women needed to be involved in peace-building efforts.
One of the key areas of the training is the focus on the use of early warning signals to prevent the escalation of conflicts.
In the estimation of WANEP-Ghana, violent conflicts that occur in Ghana are pre-emptive and therefore instituting an early and effective response to conflict signals could be a sure way to managing such conflicts.
Mr Ishmael Falilu, one of the participants at the workshop told the Daily Graphic that the training programme was very helpful, particularly due to the ongoing efforts to resolve the Dagbon chieftaincy crisis.
“I think this training re-echoes the need for all of us to come on board since it is in the interest of all that this conflict is laid to rest, so that we open a new chapter of unity and a single sense of purpose,” he mentioned.
“For me, this training has opened our eyes on the need to make interventions early and not to wait till matters get out of hand,” another participant, Ms Mariam Adam, told this paper.
All in all, the most important thing is for such training programmes to translate into fruitful results for the benefit of Dagbon and Ghana.
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