Understanding the intra-ethnic conflict in Bimbilla

The northern parts of Ghana have known a number of inter-ethnic conflicts; between the Gonja and Vagala, the Kusasi and the Mamprusi, the Nanumba and the Konkomba, and between the Konkomba, Nawuri, Nchumuru, and Basare on the one hand and the Dagomba, Nanumba, and Gonja on the other, among others. However, one of the most protracted conflicts is the chieftaincy succession dispute among the Nanumba people of Northern Ghana that begun following the death of the Bimbilla Naa (chief), Naa Abarika II in 1999. In this blog post Benjamin Kobina Kwansa, Research Fellow at the University of Ghana, reports on how this conflict has affected the everyday lives of people in the town of Bimbilla, Ghana.

I first encountered the terminology of blacks and whites, as used in Bimbilla to depict the two sides in a longstanding chieftaincy conflict, during fieldwork carried out in early 2019 as part of the Domestic Security Implications of UN Peacekeeping in Ghana (D-SIP) project. After the death of Naa Abarika II two persons from the Gbugma-Yili gate (family) laid claim to the skin (chieftaincy) since the kingmakers could not settle on a single successor. As our respondents explain, the blacks are the supporters of the late Andani Dasana Abdulai, one of the contestants, while the whites are the supporters of the other, the late Alhaji Salifu Dawuni. The respondents allege that every member of the Gbugma-Yili gate is aligned one way or the other to the blacks and whites dualism. A person’s association with other members of the Gbugma-Yili gate, their actions and inactions, directly or indirectly, associate the individual to one of the factions. Outside of the gate, the major political parties have also been aligned to the blocs, and so government interventions in managing the conflict have been politicised, and therefore only short-lived at best.

Customarily, since Naa Abarika II was from the Bang-Yili gate (bangle house), his successor was expected to come from the Gbugma-Yili gate (lion’s house). Unfortunately, two persons (from the royal gate of Gbugma-Yili) laid claim to the skin. What made the situation more contentious was the fact that the two contestants were both selected and enskinned (installed) by the appropriate traditional authority as the King and overlord of the Nanumba people; six of the nine kingmakers settled on Andani Dasana Abdulai (a son of a former king of Nanum), while the other three kingmakers selected Alhaji Salifu Dawuni (the sitting Nakpa Naa at the time). This has not only threatened the peace and harmony in Bimbilla, and the entire Nanum kingdom, but also led to the destruction of property, injuries, and deaths, as well as continuous clashes between supporters of the two rival claimants: the blacks and whites.

Bimbilla is the district capital of the Nanumba North administrative district. On my visit to this urban community, I found that Bimbilla was fully connected to the national electricity grid, although access to pipe-borne water was comparatively very limited. Communication was relatively good, and the project team had access to mobile communication and internet connectivity. Bicycles, motorcycles, and especially pragya (a tricycle used for commercial passenger transportation) are the dominant means of transport in the township. It was a lovely experience having my very first ride in a pragya as we went to conduct some in-depth interviews in town, since that was the only means to get to the respondents. I found Bimbilla to be a very vibrant urban community, and the people were affable and chatty. Through a combination of interviews, focus group discussions, and observations I got a fair idea about the Nanumba ethnic group of Northern Ghana.

Besides the autochthonous Nanumba people who live in Bimbilla, the main migrant groups in the area include the Konkomba, Chamba, Kotokoli, and the Nawuri. The Nanumba have had a somewhat unfriendly relationship with the Konkomba, in particular, for several decades now. A number of conflicts have occurred between these groups with the Nanumba being particularly concerned with the increasing numbers of the Konkomba and their implications for land ownership, control, and sovereignty in Nanum, because they consider the Konkomba to be foreigners. The Konkomba for their part, worry about the lack of respect, recognition, payment of levies, and the right to elect their leaders and give titles. It is thus ironic that the one conflict that has caused so much damage to the Nanumba, that has resulted in the vandalization of property, physical injuries, and deaths, is the intra-gate conflict among the Gbugma-Yili gate, among the blacks and the whites.

Over the years as a result of the chieftaincy conflict, Bimbilla and its surrounding communities have experienced the enforcement of state curfews, many have been injured with gunshot and machete wounds, individuals, families, and state properties have been damaged, and several people have lost their lives. Indeed, the two royals at the centre of the conflict, Andani Dasana Abdulai and Alhaji Salifu Dawuni have both died, but suspicions and threats still linger on. Regrettably, this has affected the everyday public and private lives of people in Bimbilla. As explained by one of our respondents, ‘[t]his conflict has affected marriages. If you want to marry a person from the other faction, your family will have to denounce you, or the other faction would attack you.’

Another worrying effect of the existence and activities of the blacks and whites factions is the apparent fear among the people in Bimbilla that at any point in time the conflict can recur. It is alleged that the various factions are stockpiling guns and are ready at any point in time to get into a fight, as narrated by a respondent:

‘…A year after the shooting, I went to see a friend and I saw lots of armoured cars in town and I asked him what was happening. He responded that, the security apparatus has picked intelligence that the conflict was going to escalate. Most of the people who were killed were the whites, …the whites had planned to attack the blacks in retaliation…In Bimbilla, almost everybody has a weapon because, there is a saying that, ‘if you don’t have a weapon, then you must count yourself as a dead person’. So, one of the things everyone would like to acquire is a weapon.’

Several professionals including teachers and doctors are said to have refused postings to the town, fearing the recurrence of the conflict.

Although, those intervening in the conflict, including local Imams and mallams, have been accused of taking sides with the blacks or whites, compromising their position in the dispute resolution, community peace initiatives seem to be bearing fruit. The activities of a ‘peace initiation committee’ made up of a religious team, including pastors and Imams from Tamale, and the joint police and military operations (Operation Gong Gong), have been lauded as being neutral. These groups give a semblance of hope.

Although agnates, the blacks and the whites, as their names signal, have clearly defined opposing principles on the issue of who should be the next King of the Nanum, resulting in the disruption of life and destruction of properties. A major step in resolving conflicts is a greying of the polarisation of identity camps. Grey can be the third colour, a safe one, as it lies between the black and the white.

Read more about the project: D-SIP – Domestic Security Implications of UN Peacekeeping in Ghana