From Longonto House To Legon: The Long Road To Hausa Language Proficiency In Ghana

There is a building in Kumasi that many pass without a second glance. Longonto House, nestled in the heart of the Zango community, is more than a structure of bricks and mortar. It is a symbol of migration, of faith, of commerce, and of the enduring power of the Hausa language in Ghanaian life.

It is from this very building that Zuria 88.7 FM broadcasts, and it is from this same cultural and linguistic root that one of the most significant academic milestones in Ghana's recent history has grown: the Certificate in Hausa Language Proficiency at the University of Ghana, Legon.

The journey from Longonto House to Legon is not a straight line. It winds through decades of community broadcasting, unfinished journalism initiatives, quiet personal conversations, and the stubborn refusal of dedicated individuals to let a worthy cause die. This is that story.

The Roots: From Longonto House to the Zango

Commercial opportunities in the trade of kola nuts and cattle attracted merchants like Mallam Idris Nenu from Katsina, who arrived in the mid-19th century and is cited as the first Hausa to settle in Accra. Over time, Hausa communities took root not only in Accra but across Ghana in Kumasi, Tamale, Sunyani, and beyond establishing the Zongo settlements that today form a vital thread in the fabric of Ghanaian society.

Sabon Zongo whose name derives from the Hausa for "new settlement" was founded by Mallam Barko, the son of Mallam Na-Inno, who arrived in Accra from Katsina between 1845 and 1850, primarily to spread Islam. It remains one of the oldest Zongo settlements in Ghana. The community that took shape consisted mainly of Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Baribari, and Nupe peoples, with foundational figures from Katsina at its spiritual and administrative core.

From these humble beginnings, Hausa grew far beyond the boundaries of the Zongo. It evolved into a critical lingua franca across Africa, with approximately 50 million speakers, cementing its role as a language of trade, diplomacy, media, and cross-cultural communication across West Africa. Nowhere is this presence more keenly felt than in Kumasi Ghana's second city and home to one of the most historically significant Zongo communities on the continent and it is from Longonto House at its heart that the modern story of Hausa broadcasting in Ghana begins.

Longonto House and the Birth of Zuria FM

Longonto House in Kumasi is not merely an address. It is a community anchor a building that has long served as a gathering point, a reference landmark, and a centre of Hausa cultural identity in the Ashanti Region. It was here that the late Alhaji Haruna Abubakar chose to establish the offices of Zuria 88.7 FM, a decision that was as much a statement of intent as it was a practical choice.

Zuria 88.7 FM became the most credible and authentic Hausa, Twi, English, Arabic, and Islamic broadcaster in the region. But its founding purpose was always deeper than entertainment. Alhaji Haruna Abubakar launched Zuria FM with a clear and unapologetic mission: to extend Hausa preaching, Islamic education, and a full range of community programming in the Hausa language to listeners across Ghana. At a time when Hausa-speaking Ghanaians had virtually no dedicated broadcast platform in their language, Zuria FM from Longonto House filled that void with conviction and consistency.

Alhaji Abubakar Haruna, the owner and bankroller of Zuria 88.7 FM, has since passed on. His passing was mourned deeply by the community he served, but the station he built from Longonto House endures a living testament to his vision that the Hausa language deserved not just a presence in Ghana, but a home.

Baba Yakubu Makeri and the VOA Connection

Alongside Zuria FM's community broadcasting work, individual journalists were carving out professional space for Hausa-language media in Ghana. Among the most energetic of these was Baba Yakubu Makeri, whose career as a Voice of America correspondent in Ghana represented the highest level of Hausa journalism the country had seen.

Makeri was not merely a reporter. He was a standard-bearer demonstrating through his work that Hausa-language journalism in Ghana could meet international professional standards.

The VOA Hausa service delivered 30-minute shows that connected millions of Hausa listeners in Nigeria, Niger, and Ghana to world news in their own language, and Makeri's on-the-ground work in Ghana was a critical part of that reach. His energy and commitment helped manage and sustain Hausa media activity in Ghana at a time when institutional support was thin and the work depended largely on the drive of dedicated individuals.

A Growing Ecosystem: The FM Stations That Kept Hausa Alive

Before Hausa could earn its place in any university lecture hall, it first had to prove itself on the airwaves across Ghana and it did, convincingly. A network of FM radio stations built Hausa into an active media language serving millions of listeners in Zongo communities from Accra to Kumasi to the Brong-Ahafo Region.

Marhaba 99.3 FM took Hausa broadcasting into the capital. Marhaba FM is the first Hausa-speaking radio station to be established in Accra, Ghana, focused on serving the listening public with quality news and information, unbiased reportage, good music, and the very best of entertainment.

What distinguishes it further is its institutional reach: the station is in partnership with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to broadcast live news, English Premier League commentary, daily sports news, and maternal health issues all in Hausa and directly from BBC London.

Iqra Radio 103.7 FM in Accra arrived with a powerful launch graced by the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu. Transmitting on 103.7 FM, Iqra Radio aims to serve Zongo communities in the Greater Accra Region and beyond, with key programmes including Islamic lectures by globally acclaimed Hausa-speaking scholars, programmes addressing women's issues and educational shows for children. The name Iqra meaning "read” is derived from the first verse of the Holy Qur'an revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.), and the station broadcasts mainly in the Hausa language.

Gaskiya FM 105.5 extended Hausa broadcasting into the Brong-Ahafo Region. Established as a commercial FM broadcasting media station transmitting on 105.5 MHz, its programming spans health, education, politics, religion, capacity building, and human development, with particular emphasis on youth, women, and the vulnerable in society.

The name Gaskiya meaning "truth" in Hausa signals an editorial commitment to honest, community-grounded journalism. It covers the Brong-Ahafo region, making it a vital Hausa-language voice in an area with a significant Zongo population.

Haske Radio 91.7 FM serves the Asawase Zongo in Kumasi, one of the largest Muslim communities in the Ashanti Region. Haske Radio is a Hausa-speaking radio station that operates from the Asawase Market in the Asokore Mampong Municipality, managed by the Ganamu Foundation, combining news and current affairs with music and engaging interactive audience programming.

The name Haske meaning "light" in Hausa reflects its mission to illuminate and inform. Sitting alongside Zuria FM in the Kumasi radio landscape, it transmits on 91.7 FM from Asawase, making Kumasi arguably the most vibrant city for Hausa broadcasting in Ghana.

Alpha FM has also carried Hausa-language programming as part of its broader multilingual schedule, reaching Zongo audiences through dedicated Hausa slots that reflect the commercial and community recognition of a listenership that can no longer be overlooked.

Taken together Zuria, Marhaba, Iqra, Gaskiya, Haske, and Alpha these stations constitute a living Hausa-language media infrastructure built over decades. They kept Hausa alive, relevant, and in daily professional use long before any university formalized its teaching. They are, in the truest sense, the informal academies that made the formal one possible.

The Journalism Classroom: An Unfinished Beginning at GIJ

It was against this backdrop of growing Hausa media presence that the first serious attempt to introduce formal Hausa language training into Ghana's journalism education system took shape. The Ghana Institute of Journalism now the UniMAC-Institute of Journalism (UniMAC-IJ) is a public university formed by a merger of the erstwhile GIJ, the National Film and Television Institute, and the Ghana Institute of Languages. It has trained the vast majority of Ghana's working journalists since its establishment in 1959.

Within this institution, a pioneering process was started to introduce Hausa language proficiency classes specifically for journalism students and media practitioners. The rationale was self-evident: reporters covering the Zango communities, northern Ghana, and West African affairs were working without the linguistic tools their beat demanded. Yet journalism training in Ghana had never equipped them to operate in Hausa.

The effort had a determined companion in Hawawu Abdulkareem, popularly known as "Young Pioneer" a seasoned journalist, English-Hausa translator, and media practitioner based in Accra, bringing a wealth of experience as a stringer for Voice of America (Journalist) and other international outlets. Her bilingual competence, professional network, and passionate commitment to the cause made her the natural driving force behind the GIJ initiative.

Unfortunately, the process could not be completed. Institutional constraints and the complex transition dynamics surrounding GIJ's evolution into UniMAC-IJ meant that the formal programme did not reach its conclusion. But critically, the effort had not ended it had only been interrupted. The seeds sown at GIJ by Hawawu Abdulkareem Young Pioneer and her companions would find fertile ground elsewhere.

The Doctor, the Professor, and a Conversation That Changed Things

The story took its decisive turn through a chain of personal connections the kind that quietly reshape institutions.

Dr. Zenabu Baba, a medical professional at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, entered the picture through an introduction made by Hawawu Abdulkareem Young Pioneer herself. It was a connection born of shared commitment to the Hausa language cause, and it would prove consequential beyond anyone's expectation at the time.

Through this introduction, Dr. Baba came into conversation with Prof. Fusheini Hudu, Head of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Ghana, Legon. In the course of their discussions, Dr. Baba posed a question that was simple in its framing but profound in its implications: why not establish a Hausa language proficiency programme within the Department of Linguistics?

Prof. Fusheini Hudu has been teaching at the University of Ghana since 2010, with primary research and teaching interests spanning phonetics, phonology, morphology, psycholinguistics, and general research on Dagbani and African languages. His academic formation gave him a deep appreciation for the structural importance of African languages not merely as subjects of scholarly inquiry, but as living instruments of communication, economic life, and cultural identity.

Dr. Baba's advice landed on prepared ground. Prof. Hudu had his own foresight about Hausa: he understood that while other Ghanaian and West African languages were finding their way into formal academic programmes, Hausa despite its enormous footprint in trade, diplomacy, media, security, migration, and everyday life across the sub-region remained conspicuously absent from university-level instruction in Ghana.

He saw too that Hausa's capture of the West African communication landscape was not a temporary phenomenon but a structural reality that academia needed to engage seriously. The advice from Dr. Baba became the catalyst. Prof. Hudu moved, and the programme took shape.

The Programme: A Certificate Whose Time Has Come

The result is the Certificate in Hausa Language Proficiency, offered through the University of Ghana's College of Humanities, Department of Linguistics, at Legon. The programme is designed to develop practical proficiency in Hausa described as one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa and a vital language of trade, media, diplomacy, education, security, migration, and cross-cultural communication across West Africa.

Target applicants span media practitioners and broadcasters, security and immigration personnel, NGO and development workers, business professionals, students and researchers, and members of the general public. Course features include beginner-friendly instruction, practical speaking sessions, interactive language practice, cultural and communicative competence, and a University of Ghana certificate upon completion.

Significantly, the programme does not stand alone. The Department is simultaneously offering certificates in Akan, Ewe, Ga, and Hausa a bold institutional declaration that Ghana's linguistic diversity is an academic and professional resource to be developed, not merely a cultural backdrop to be acknowledged.

Conclusion: From Longonto House to Legon

The arc of this story stretches from a building in Kumasi to a lecture hall in Legon but it runs through every Zango community in between, through every radio frequency carrying the Hausa language across Ghana's airwaves, through every journalist who tried and was told to try again, through every personal introduction that planted a seed in unexpected soil.

From Alhaji Haruna Abubakar broadcasting from Longonto House, to Baba Yakubu Makeri reporting for VOA, to Hawawu Abdulkareem Young Pioneer pressing the case at GIJ and connecting the right people at the right time, to Dr. Zenabu Baba carrying the message to a professor who had the vision to act on it this programme is the work of many hands across many years.

The Hausa language, spoken by around 86 million people, is the second most spoken language after Arabic in the Afro-Asiatic language family, with communities scattered throughout West Africa and far beyond. That it now has a formal academic home at the University of Ghana is not a surprise. It is recognition long overdue.

The Zango was never just a settlement. It was always a university of trade, of faith, of language, of survival. Longonto House knew this. Legon has now confirmed it.

Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator, Member GAMPA
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.

International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP

mustysallama@gmail.com
+233-555-275-880

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