Northern Region (Ghana)

Northern Region
Location
Statistics
Regional Minister	S.S. Nayina
Capital	Tamale
Area	70,384 km² Ranked 1st
Population 2000 Census 1984 Census	Ranked 5th 1,820,806 1,164,583
Districts	18
ISO 3166-2	GH-NP

The Northern Region is the largest area of Ghana. As of 2009, it is divided into 20 districts. The region's capital is Tamale. Climatically, religiously, linguistically, and culturally, the region differs greatly from the politically and economically dominating regions of central and southern Ghana.

Geography

Central Ghana

Districts of Northern Ghana

Districts

The Northern Region of Ghana contains the following 20 districts:

• Bole District
• Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District
• Central Gonja District
• Chereponi District
• East Gonja District
• East Mamprusi District
• Gushegu District
• Karaga District
• Kpandai District
• Nanumba North District
• Nanumba South District
• Saboba District
• Savelugu-Nanton District
• Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District
• Tamale Municipal District
• Tolon/Kumbungu District
• West Gonja District
• West Mamprusi District
• Yendi District
• Zabzugu/Tatale District

Climate and Vegetation

The Northern Region is much drier than southern areas of Ghana, due to its proximity to the Sahel, and the Sahara. The vegetation consists predominantly of grassland, especially savanna with clusters of drought-resistant trees such as baobabs or acacias. Between May and October is the wet season, with an average annual rainfall of 750 to 1050 mm (30 to 40 inches). The dry season is between about November and April. The highest temperatures are reached at the end of the dry season, the lowest in December and January. However, the hot Harmattan wind from the Sahara blows frequently between December and the beginning of February. The temperatures can vary between 14°C (59°F) at night and 40°C (104°F) during the day.

People

The Northern Region is the least densely populated area of Ghana. Most inhabitants (52%) speak a language of the Mole–Dagbani subfamily in the Niger–Congo languages. The largest ethnicities within this group are the Dagomba and the Mamprussi. The Gurma along with the Konkomba place as the largest sub-group, comprising 21% of the population. The largest individual ethnic group is the Dagomba, which constitute about a third of the population. The previously mentioned languages belong - in contrast to the groups in the South - to the Gur language family.

Religion

Over 56% of the population are followers of Islam, 21% belong to traditional religions, and 19% are Christian.^{[citation needed]} About 3% belong to other religions.^{[citation needed]}

Ethnic conflicts in the Northern Region

The relationship between the various ethnic groups in the Northern Region has not been continuously stable. In particular, conflicts have been smoldering for a long time between the Dagomba and Nanumba on the one hand and the Konkomba on the other. In the eyes of many among the dominating Dagomba, the Konkomba are landless migrants, who came into the areas ruled by Dagomba only in the colonial ages. However, this view of the origins and history of the Konkomba in this region of Ghana is not shared by themselves, and it is not supported by the scientific research on this area, especially not by any academic writing on the Konkomba or Dagomba published before the 1994 conflict, (Konkombas, Chambas, Kusasis, Sisalas and other ethnic groups are the original settlers of the area before the arrival of the Mole-Dagbani). 1994 experienced the worst ethnic conflicts ever in Ghana. The conflict spread to other groups, and ended up with several thousand dead. In 1996 this armed conflict was formally ended by a peace treaty signed in Kumasi by a large number of official representatives, leaders and opinion leaders from each of the major war parties (van der Linde/Naylor 1999; Bogner 2009). However, smaller armed conflicts between varying opponents have continued to flare up now and then in various places of the Northern Region (as well as in the area of the town Bawku in the neighbouring Upper East Region). The perhaps most momentous of the these conflicts was the dispute over the succession to the throne ('skin') of the highest chief among the Dagomba. In March 2002 this long-standing intra-ethnic dispute between two factions among the Dagomba led to three days of armed fighting in the royal town of Yendi and, in the course of the fighting, to the murder of their dynastic leader, the Ya-Na (see e.g. Anamzoya 2009; Awedoba et al., 2009). Partly due to these or similar recurrent conflicts (usually of a smaller scale) many people have migrated out of the Northern Region. From the population of 1,820,806 in the region shown in the 2000 census, it has now decreased by about 30% (please cite source!).

Economy

The region is one of the least developed areas of Ghana. More than 70% of the economically active population are agricultural. The low population density is partly caused by emigration due to extreme poverty in the region and to the various small but recurrent conflicts.

Sources

• Districts of Ghana at statoids.com
• GhanaDistricts.com

Anamzoya, Alhassan S. 2009: Chieftaincy Conflicts in Northern Ghana: A Challenge to National Stability, in: Steve Tonah (ed.), Contemporary Social Problems in Ghana. Accra: University of Ghana/Yamens Press, pp. 209-228.

Awedoba, A.K./Edward Salifu Mahama/Sylvanus M.A. Kuuire/Felix Longi 2009: An Ethnographic Study of Northern Ghanaian Conflicts: Towards a Sustainable Peace. Legon/Accra: Sustainable Peace Inititive/Sub-Saharan Publishers.

Bogner, Artur 2000: The 1994 civil war in northern Ghana: The genesis and escalation of a tribal conflict, in: Carola Lentz & Paul Nugent (eds.), Ethnicity in Ghana. London/New York: Macmillan, 2000, pp. 183–203.

Bogner, Artur 2009: The Peace Process in the Wake of Ghana's Northern Conflict: Its Course and Conditions for Success, in: Gabriele Rosenthal & Artur Bogner (eds.), Ethnicity, Belonging and Biography. Berlin/Münster: Lit, pp. 41-62.

Bombande, Emmanuel 2007: Conflicts, Civil Society Organizations and Community Peacebuilding Practices in Northern Ghana, in: Steve Tonah (ed.), Ethnicity, Conflicts and Consensus in Ghana. Accra: Woeli, pp. 196-228.

van der Linde, Ada & Naylor, Rachel 1999: Building Sustainable Peace: Conflict, Conciliation, and Civil Society in Northern Ghana (Oxfam Working Papers). Oxford: Oxfam GB.

External links

• http://www.ghanadistricts.com/reg-info.asp?RegionID=6