From ‘Bloody Land’ To ‘Cleansed Land’: The Cola Peace Broker In The Nakpanduri War In Northern Ghana

Introduction
Generally, Ghana is a peaceful country in West Africa. Ghana is commended globally for its strong polity and adulates politico-democratic transitions since the beginning of 1992, when Ghana attained the status of a democratic state. However, ethnic conflicts, land disputes and chieftaincy wars have become widespread since Ghana’s independence in 1957. Northern Ghana in particular has experienced over 23 protracted ethnic conflicts alone between the 1980s and 2005. And for other forms of conflicts, a total of 43 different conflicts in northern Ghana were recorded in the two national dailies between 2007 and 2012. Ethnic conflict and chieftaincy succession violence, which are triggered by the struggle for recognition, identity, power and respect has had a detrimental effect on the socio-economic development of northern Ghana. For instance, the worst violence in the history of Ghana: the so called ‘guinea-fowl war’, between the Konkomba and Nanumba in 1994/5 resulted in more than 2,000 deaths and the displacement of over 200,000 people.

The Konkomba and Bimoba ethnic groups in Nakpanduri also fought wars in 1984, 1986 and 1989, and resulted in hundreds of deaths and several houses destroyed. The recent clash between the two ethnic groups in 2012, over a parcel of land in Kpemale has made Nakpanduri ridiculed and named the ‘bloody land’. Since 1984, the conflict has remained protracted till 2014 when the feuding parties themselves decided to end the violence. In the next sections, I have provided the overview of the conflict, the previous resolution methods employed, and how the conflict was finally resolved between the two ethnic groups.

Overview of the Conflict
Kpemale is a community in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo district, which is located in the northeastern corner of the northern region of Ghana, West Africa. Bunkpurugu is the district capital. In the Bunkpurugu Yonyuo-district, settlements or villages are made up of a combination of either Mamprusi and Bimoba or Mamprusi and Konkombas. Nakpanduri is a suburban community located about twenty-two miles west of the district capital, and Kpemale can be recognised as a section of Nakpanduri. The conflict between the Konkomba and Bimoba ethnic groups has passed through transitions. The conflict first started in 1984 at Bimbagu, another town close to Nakpanduri. It was triggered by a quarrel between a Bimoba man from the Tamong clan and a Konkomba man from the Komba clan over the price of a mango fruit in a market. A second escalation of violence ensued when the Konkombas considered the attitude of the Bimobas disrespectful towards the chieftaincy skin occupied by a Konkomba; this was seen as a reflection of their broader disregard for the Konkombas’ claim to the land in the area.

The third outbreak of violence in 1989 was fuelled by the chief of the Mamprusi Traditional Area when he requested that Jandan Toitor, a Bimoba chief, should hand over the chieftaincy regalia to Naabi Tam, a Konkomba and an older person than Jandan, so that Naabi Tam could be installed as chief of Bimbagu. What triggered the violence were the relocation of Naabi Tam and his subjects to the Bimoba territory and the denial of the Bimoba’s access to their farmlands, which were located on the Konkomba side. The conflict extended to Jimbale in the early 1990s. There it became a conflict over inter-ethnic chieftaincy succession. The conflict expanded again to include Kpemale in 1995; in this case, land was the source of the conflict. It is estimated that 144 people died in the violence between 1984 and 1987, and that more than seven major incidents of violence occurred after 1995.

In 2012, the conflict resurfaced and about five people were killed, and schools were shut down for the safety of students and their teachers. Teens were targeted because each group saw in them a potential leader of the tribe who could come back for revenge killings. Elders of the two ethnic groups utilised ancient hatred, animosity, fear and identity to ignite the emotions of their groups for battle. This is why the 2012 violence saw the burning of scores of homes and other properties. For instance, 167 houses belonging to the Bimoba’s were set ablaze. Conversely, the Bimobas stormed the Kpemale area which is a predominantly Konkomba community; burnt and crushed down 31 houses and other properties.

The Resolution Process
In an attempt to address the recurrent violent conflicts in the area, a number of programmes for conflict resolution and prevention by the state, non-state actors, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been undertaken over the last decade. First of all, state institutions, including the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District Assembly, the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), the district police, as well as the Northern Regional Security Council (REGSEC) and the Ministry of the Interior together have made collaborative use of intelligence, force, and diplomacy to manage the conflict to date. The Ministry of Interior increased the number of police in the area while the military command, since the violence began, sent about three contingent to maintain law and order, to embark on patrols to enforce curfews, and generally to protect Kpemale and its environs.

Non-state actors such as the religious institutions and peace actors, including the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese of the Catholic Church (NBDCC), which covers parts of the northern region, and the Church of Pentecost whose involvements in the conflict, form another important component within the conflict prevention strategies in Kpemale. The NBDCC came into the scene in 1984 during the violence at Bimbagu when it provided relief items. Since the transition process of the conflict, the Catholic Church has been prominent in the Kpemale conflict. It has advised community members and warned them about conflict entrepreneurs who stand to make profit from the violence. The Catholic Church, provided logistical support, provided neutral venues for peace programmes, and used its leverage as a religious institution trusted for its impartiality to bring parties together without resentment, and funded some peace making activities and items from its budgets. It also formed the Parish Peace Clubs, Community Peace Committees, and Parish Peace Committees, all of which are engaged in peace education and sensitisation activities, such as peace dramas and public forums, aimed at spreading the culture of peace.

CSOs/NGOs also played a significant conflict resolution and conflict prevention roles in the area. The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, Ghana (WANEP-Ghana), for instance, has been instrumental and deeply involved in the search for a lasting peace in the area. In collaboration with the security commands and district assemblies, WANEP conducted sessions and mediations to intervene. One main dialogue was conducted on 15 May 2013 in Tamale, followed by a post-dialogue session attended by representatives selected by the feuding parties themselves. These dialogues provided a space in which both factions listened and responded to grievances surrounding land issues. The events were interlaced with peace education training sessions at neutral venues. A communiqué was drawn up after the negotiations, with timelines for implementation. The implementation of the agreement was monitored and threats to its implementation, including reactions from the communities involved, were proactively addressed to prevent attempts to derail the process.

The Cola Peace Broker
The efforts of state institutions, non-state actors and CSOs/NGOs discussed above helped to create a relative peace in the area even though Kpemale remained fragile. However, an application of the indigenous conflict resolution methods and practices, including cola nut chewing, an oath swearing, and cultural drumming and dancing has brought a sustainable peace in the area. The Konkombas and Bimobas resolved to end their three decades-long protracted land dispute themselves. The Nakpanduri chief, David Kansok, began hunting for a lasting peace in Nakpanduri- a place where attractive mountains and business marry each other, but was tagged the ‘bloody land’ owing to the conflict. Chief David Kansok’s initiative yielded a good result.

With support from REGSEC, the Catholic Church and WANEP, on 21 June 2014 the historic expiration of the conflict was marked in the presence of the Nayiri (the King of Mamprugu blessed with divine wisdom, believed to possess ancestral powers, and whose decision is final and abided by all) in Nalerigu. At a unification durbar at the palace of the Nayiri- Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, chiefs and the youth from the two feuding ethnic groups chewed a ritual cola nut from the Nayiri and sworn to denounce violence and to seal their unity and peaceful coexistence. Chewing the ritual cola nut also means the Bimobas in Nakpanduri have agreed to welcome back the Konkombas to resettle at Kpemale after they fled the community to neighbouring areas following the conflict. A colourful display of the rich culture of the two ethnic groups was demonstrated as the two chiefs who have renewed their friendship joined the youth to dance to the throbbing beat of the traditional gongon drums to prove their commitment to coexist peacefully. A land that was docketed-‘bloody land’ has now become a ‘cleansed land’. Nakpanduri has resumed its economic adventure.

Conclusion and Recommendations
Ethnic and chieftaincy conflicts as well as land disputes are a major problem facing national development in Ghana. Particularly, the Konkomba and Bimoba ethnic conflict with underlying issues like chieftaincy succession and land resulted in hundreds of deaths and properties worth millions of Ghanaian Cedis destroyed. Since 1984, the conflict remained protracted till 2014 when the feuding parties themselves decided to end the violence by chewing a ritual cola before the Nayiri. Since the renewal of friendship, the two ethnic groups have not witnessed any violence, and Nakpanduri in the last two years remains peaceful.

However, the efficacy of the cola is a matter of time and would be premature to judge just after two years of a renewed friendship. Nevertheless, with the Nayiri involved, there is hope for everlasting peace. Meanwhile, the national security apparatus should not relent and CSOs should continue the peacebuilding agenda in the area. Finally, Kusasis and Mamprusis leaders in Bawku, as well as Andanis and Abudus leaders in Dagbon should learn from the Konkomba and Bimoba leaders in Nakpanduri for sustainable peace in their area.

Abdul Karim Issifu
West Africa Peace Ambassadors Network
[email protected]