These ego centric and tribalists should face criminal prosecution for ethnic incitement. Over 15 million of whom are Africans. A lot causes or event leading to land conflicts have been identified and analysed in this paper. Another cause of ethnic conflict in Africa is the challenge associated with political tension, especially in the nations that are emerging from one party and dictatorial regimes into democracy. causes, but also similar levels of engagement and violence and similar outcomes. It can also be said to be an incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled. Ethnic group with large numbers were put together with those with not so large a number hence in almost every African country has majority and minority ethnic groups living together. Example is the fighting between the Andani and Abudu clans in the Dagbon Traditional Area and the recent chieftaincy skirmishes in Buipe during the visit of Vice-President, John Mahama. 29 March 2002. Ifthere is any country that Northern Ghana is becoming a dramatic setting for a Rwanda-to-be. The current unrest in Bawku is another chapter in a long history of tensions between Mamprusis and Kusasis. Figure 1 – Causes of Ethnic Conflict: Conceptual Framework . You can trace causes of ethnic conflict to amalgamation, religious differences, inequality, lack of transparent governance, long military incursion in government and lack of vision or Nigerian dream, to mention but a few. An Historical and Political Overview of the Konkomba and Other Minority Groups 10 6. Modern Ghana will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in this article. Causes of Conflicts in Africa Conflicts in Africa may be said to have been caused by a multiplicity of factors such as: arbitrary borders created by the colonial powers, heterogeneous ethnic composition of African states, inept political leadership, corruption, negative effect of external debt burden and poverty. Man rather prefers to use the benefit of the application of science and technology in harming his fellow being. Case Study: The Dagbon Chieftaincy Crisis 10 4. Ethnic conflict is one of the major threats to international peace and security. This war is widely known in Ghana and even other African countries. Sorry to sound an alarmist. Nawuri territory borders on … 27 March 2002. This paper gives an account of some of the major conflicts in Northern Ghana that have drawn national attention, most of which were/are violent. All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Think Tankers Against China: The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, A Quick Note To A Ghanaian Anti-Corruption Campaigner. Akans (the most populous ethnic group in Ghana today) make up about 45.3% of the total population. In such cases elections are staged and managed to offer a front to legitimize the stay of the already entrenched rulers. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. I side with this article writer in the sense that this is not a matter of government intervention anymore but rather it should be a concern of all citizens in the nation. Ethnicity is how individuals perceive themselves, and unlike race it can be changed. The traditional mechanism for resolving peace during inter-clan conflict is very appropriate and should be applied when ethnic conflicts explode. February 4, 1874 Battle of Ordashu; December 1895 – February 1896 Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War; March 1900 – September 1900 War of the Golden Stool; July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918 World War I. August 3, 1914 – November 23, 1918 African theatre of World War I. August 9, 1914 – August 26, 1914 Togoland Campaign. 2. Dr Emmanuel Debrah is Senior lecturer and Chair of Department of Political Science, university of Ghana. There is lack of political will to prosecute perpetrators of these clashes and killings. The Bawku Conflict The Bawku crisis, which appears to be the first post-independence ethnic conflict in northern Ghana, is an inter-ethnic conflict between the Mamprusi and Kusasi of … Media sensationalism has undermined the security of State in several aspects. [email protected]Development / Accra / Ghana / Africa / Modernghana.com, The author has 3 publications published on Modern Ghana.Column: EmmanuelKAnekunabe, Disclaimer: "The views/contents expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Modern Ghana. Also the infamous policy of separate development in certain parts of Africa and the policy of indirect rule through which the Colonial Authorities were able to govern by using minority groups accounted for some of the inter-ethnic conflicts on the continent. Many countries with a heterogenous ethnic population suffer from some sort of ethnic conflict. Ghana Needs Restructuring, NOT Rebranding! 4. Constructing Dichotomies: The Meaning of Minority.....9 5. These politicians are then acting as ethnic warlords. This has led to the culture of impunity. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. When presidential and parliamentary candidates prominently pledge to create separate chiefdom for certain communities as some of the political campaign promises to win electoral votes. Poor economic performance It should be first and foremost recognized that solutions to ethnic conflicts lies ultimately with the factions at war. Anekunabe. This sinister political strategy has far reaching implications and consequences than just to win votes and accommodate interests of certain communities. You just found one of our most read articles. One fact that must be accepted is that with the emergence of nation States at the demise of Colonialism people of different ethnic background were lumped together and this historical antecedent must never be lost on African politicians. Ethnic Conflict in Ghana: Some Specifications, Definitions and Caveats The importance of discourse, including legitimising discourses of development to chiefs and conflict narratives to violence, necessitates a few definitions and specifications that can also Until Africa Journalists are prepared to assume their rightful role in the coverage of events on the Continent and until adequate facilities are made available for dissemination of news on the Continent to be analyzed from the prejudicial perspective of the foreign media, Africa would continue to be portrayed in a negative manner. 4. Think Tankers Against China: The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, A Quick Note To A Ghanaian Anti-Corruption Campaigner. They've helped establish “gun culture” and “culture of violence” in the north. Ghanaians remain one of the most culturally blessed people in all of Africa and all thanks to their tribal and ethnic pride. It has the potential to bubble up to the surface in Accra and Kumasi with an unimaginable reverberation across the country! Who can blame people like that? There have been conflicts such as the Konkomba-Nanumba conflict, [when?] Ironically, Ghanaians have taken pride in our country as a regional and continental beacon of democracy, stability, security and freedom. Abiy’s liberalisation and efforts to dismantle the existing order have given new energy to ethno-nationalism, while weakening the central state. According to UN Report on Ethnicity and Development in 2004, accommodating people's growing demands for their inclusion in society, for respect of their ethnicity, religion, and language, takes more than democracy and equitable growth. of of . Instead, it provides a powerful argument for finding ways to "delight in our differences", as Archbishop Desmond Tutu has put it. This war is widely known in Ghana and even other African countries. These conflicts of today are not accidental but the by-products of political engineering. Ethnic conflict exists in every country and Ghana is just one of them. 4. Sadly, clashes are sometimes instigated, orchestrated and financed by senior government officials. Ethnic Groups in Ghana. More so, the invocation of distinctions between the “native/indigene” and “stranger/migrant” rhetoric by politicians to assert themselves in the communities during representations as elite “sons of the soil”. Open defecation; is it a case of attitude or lack of toilet facilities? (Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire/NEXIS). Ethnic conflict was also a big deal after World War II and during the Cold War, when decolonization left different ethnic groups fighting over control of postcolonial nation-states. Although later censuses placed less emphasis on the ethnic and cultural composition of the population, differences of course existed and had not disappeared by the mid-1990s. "Ghana Handling Refugee Problem After Ethnic Violence." Political-domestic. However, we're daily awakening to realities of barbaric killings, insecurities, ethno political tensions and horror signs of anarchy in the Northern regions of Ghana. Causes of ethnic conflict in Nigeria are many but we will focus on primary ones that government should deal with to stop the menace at once. The arbitrary demarcation of boundaries fragmented Africa into smaller weaker status without giving much attention to the prevailing socio-cultural peculiarities of the people. Ethnic conflict is one of the major threats to international peace and security. K. (Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire/NEXIS) Xinhua. [3] Yomi Kazeem, “Nigeria now has a bigger internal security threat than Boko Haram,” Quartz Africa, January 19, 2017. The Media, especially the foreign ones have also contributed in fuelling the ethnic problems in Africa. Northern Ghana: Ethnic Conflicts ... the first thing that comes to mind is ethnic conflict. If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Nigeria: Ethnic Conflict Essay 916 Words | 4 Pages. Under the guise of ensuring peace, justice and reconciliation in the north, the governments of Ghana set up committees: Justice Lamptey Committee 1981, Justice Ampiah Commission 1991, and the Ollenu Commission Report 1994 and the Permanent Peace Negotiation Team. Upper West Region Inter-ethnic Conflict Fact Sheet Context The Lambussie and Nandom districts in the Upper West Region of Ghana are not only separated by administrative boundaries, but also by inter-ethnic tensions. Meetings of Clan Elders adjudicate the conflict and determine appropriate compensation for the aggrieved person. Northern Ghana: Ethnic Conflicts and Politics. nic conflicts. Benjamin A. Talton. Conflict can be defined as a clash or disagreement often violent between opposing groups or individuals. Ethnic Conflict in Ghana and Nigeria Understanding the causes and impacts of ethnic conflict within countries is critical in understanding how different governmental regimes function. With the exception of the Konkomba-Bimoba wars, they have been between 'majority' and 'minority' ethnic groups, that is between groups who did, or did not, build empires in the past, a distinction differentiating the indigenous people of the region and the 'invaders'. Leaders break peace as often as they are signed. A literature search indicates the following to be prominent direct or indirect causes: poor governance; ethnic rivalry; mismanagement of land and natural resources; declining economic conditions; poverty and famine. The United States for instance makes no secret of the fact that their involvement in peacekeeping and conflict is tied up with their financial interest and the strategic location of the country in turmoil. It should be pointed out that military options have only succeeded in halting the evil design of the fighter for so long as there is pressure on him. Between 1980 and 1999 there have been twenty intra or interethnic conflicts in the Northern Region of Ghana. One of the political root causes could be attributed to when land ownership in Northern Ghana came under the custody of chiefs in 1978 during the Acheampong regime when a law was passed vesting all Northern lands into the hands of selected ethnic groups chiefs and left out most others based on the recommendations of the Alhassan Report of 1978. 2 hours ago, We’re so far leading with 140 seats – NDC In 1960 roughly 100 linguistic and cultural groups were recorded in Ghana. Adeleye Oyeniyi – TRANSCEND Media Service. Conflict Management: The Role of the … Road to Jubilee House: Would it be the return of John or Four More for Nana? The cases that occurred in Liberia and Somalia underscore the fact that there is the need for Africans to develop their own remedies for conflict management and resolution. PROJECT NUMBER LTC Arthur T. Moe 5e. The causes of conflicts in Africa have been traced to historical, racial, socio-economic, land settlement and religious conditions. INEQUALITY; Inequity: If it seems the government favours one ethnic group over the other in the allocation of resources, e.g budget allocation. But they had ethnic undertones too, particularly in Ethiopia’s most populous regions, Amhara and Oromia, whose leaders hoped to reduce the long-dominant Tigray minority’s influence. 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