Bawku chief Imam weeps for those who died during conflict

Bawku (UE), Sept. 10, GNA-Alhaji Murtala Imam, Bawku Chief Imam, on Friday shed tears for those who lost their lives in the Bawku conflict.

As tears blurred his vision, he said it was against the religion of Islam to take another person's life for selfish reasons and that was deemed as one of the most grievous sins against Allah. Speaking after Friday Prayers, he advised the people of Bawku to protect one another and together search for lasting peace in the area. He was disappointed about the recent incident of violence at a farm where some people were injured.

The Chief Imam said Islam means peace therefore there was the need for people of Bawku who are mainly Muslims to observe the tenets of the religion and live in peace with one another. He called on the youth to concentrate on issues that would foster their development and not to allow themselves to be used as objects of destruction. Alhaji Mustapha Baba, an Islamic scholar and leader for the Dagombas living in Bawku called on the youth who had migrated to the south and other places as a result of the conflict to return home and help develop the area.

Alhaji Baba called on government to provide more jobs in the area in order to ease unemployment and reduce youth migration. The Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr Adamu Dramani, who was part of the peaceful celebration, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the peaceful Eid period was a good reason to tell the world that the people of Bawku were prepared to live in peace. He called on people to use the law courts to address their grievances instead of using violent means because violence was a tool for destruction.