Bellow is the full text of the message of congratulation: We the elders, chief and people of Bawku traditional area wish to express our sincere and heart felt congratulation to one of our illustrious sons, Mr. Emmanuel Bombande, Executive Director of the West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP) on winning the 2005 millennium excellence award for peace building.

It was with great joy that we received the new that a native of our traditional area had been recognized for his tireless efforts in promoting peace as a prerequisite for development.

This award is by all means a well deserved achievement in view of the fact Mr Emmanuel Bombande hails from Bawku which is sadly noted as conflict zone.

This rather portrays that we are peace-loving people even though peace which is an essential commodity for social development has sometimes eluded us. We are, indeed, very proud of Mr Bombande for the honuor done us by winning the 2005 Millennium Excellence Award. We admire your sterling qualities in managing conflict situations and fashioning out peace.

We recognize and appreciate your role in achieving the current peace that we enjoy in Kusaug and edge you and WANEP, the NGO that has unearthed your talent in managing conflicts and forging peace to continue to support us to sustain the peace in my traditional area.

For us at home, your achievement will go a long way to spur the various ethnic groups in my traditional area to sustain a peaceful coexistence and redirect our energies, particularly that of the youth, toward development.

The award was a true reflection of the people in the Kusaug area, and we hope that you will continue to bring your rich and vast experience to bear on sustaining peace in our mother land, Ghana and the West African sub-region.

We wish Mr Bombande our ancestral blessings, and may God help you to achieve more laurels in your chosen field of endeavour. It is our expectation that the youth in Ghana particularly those in the Bawku Traditional area will emulate your shinning conduct and tread on the path of peace which is the basis of any meaningful development.