Some 800 miles away from Ghana’s capital, Accra, in the market town of Bawku – less than an hour from the borders of Burkina Faso and Togo – a decades-long conflict between two rival ethnic groups has left more than 20 people dead between December and February.
The Mamprusi and Kusasi ethnic groups have engaged in fierce gun battles for decades over who should control the town’s chieftaincy. Health officials, teachers, civil servants, farmers, and many other professionals are fleeing the once-vibrant economic hub of Ghana. Businesses are closing down and people cannot go to their farms.
“No amount of incentive will force me to return to Bawku. The situation is scary and I can’t risk my life. I would rather remain poor than live in perpetual fear and uncertainty. Bawku is a ticking timebomb,” says Moro Adams, 28, a trained teacher who fled the town last year after his neighbour was killed.
