Northern Ghana suffering from effects of slave trade

The President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, Kuoru Kuri Limann IV, has said that the devastating effects of the slave trade in northern Ghana are still deeply felt and experienced in the three Northern regions of Ghana.

He pointed out that “because the enslavers took away only the young and healthy people into Europe and America, the Sissala, Kasem and Grushi lands are very empty and sparsely populated up to date."

Kuoru Limann, who is the paramount chief of Gwollu, urged the government of Ghana to pursue reparation of victims of slavery in Ghana from the foreign beneficiaries of the slave trade.

He said that even though the three northern regions have 40 per cent of the mass in this country, it has less than 16 per cent of Ghana's population living on the land now.

Kuoru Limann, who is also a Council of State member said that “presently the north has still not yet economically caught up with the south."

“The north of Ghana has suffered colonization,” he lamented.

“British colonization of the north came after the last few years of slavery of the 1890 in the north. Northerners were however prevented from going down south for education.

“The British government advocated 50 million pounds for the rapid development of the north to prepare it to catch up with the developed south and Ashanti; although this offer was gracious, it was not effected because as at independence in 1957, there was only one senior secondary school in the whole of the north,” Kuoru Limann asserted.

To this end, he stressed for a reparation from the beneficiaries of slavery to rapidly develop the north.

He also said the north has very poor transportation facilities and lacks any effective communication and therefore a new railway up north from the south will enable transportation of goods and services to improve the economy of the north.

The chief, a lawyer by profession also called for more educational institutions such as basic schools, colleges to improve upon health and educational standards in the region.

Source: The Ghanaian Times