Three students are dead in Bawku. Gunned down not in the streets, not in a battlefield but in school. In a space meant for learning, growth, and safety. Their lives were cut short by bullets, but the silence that followed may be even more deadly.
Where is the outrage? Where are the editorials, the press conferences, the social media campaigns that usually light up the digital landscape when tragedy strikes? Why has this horror not captured national attention? Have we become so numb to violence that the murder of schoolchildren no longer moves us?
For some time now, Bawku has carried the weight of conflict. But the recent killings specifically targeting students are a turning point. These were not combatants. They were children. Their only “weapon” was a pen. Their only offense was seeking an education.
And yet, there is no uproar. No public mourning. No national reflection.
We must ask: what kind of society are we becoming? One where certain lives matter less based on geography or political relevance? One where civic outrage has been reduced to a tool, deployed only when it serves someone’s agenda?
If these killings had occurred in Accra or Kumasi, would the silence have been the same?
We cannot afford to cherry pick justice. We cannot scream for change in one breath and fall mute in the next. The cost of silence is high and in Bawku, it is being paid in blood.
This is a moment that demands conscience over convenience. The media must do more than report headlines they must probe, amplify voices, and hold leaders accountable. Teacher unions, Child Rights International, human rights advocates, and every stakeholder in the education and protection of children must rise to the occasion. Civil society must act not only when it is trendy, but when it is necessary. And leaders across political divides must speak out not just for votes, but for the value of human life.
This is not just Bawku’s pain. This is Ghana’s shame.
Let it not be said that while students were murdered in cold blood, a nation scrolled past.
Let it be said that we stood up, we spoke out, and we demanded better.
Because if the lives of students don’t matter, what does?
Written By: Yaw Opoku Mensah, Former Spokesperson Ministry of Education and International Coordinator Robbfoundation.
