Northern Ghana Peace

Threat Narratives, Group Identity and Violence

What is the relationship between value systems and ethnic identity formation? How does the difference in value systems influence the salience of identity and conflict? Through narratives from in-depth interviews, this document analyzes group identity formation and their impact on conflict. Understanding the role of competing value systems in the formation of salient identity and relations between identity salience and violence, in my opinion, may help us explain why some ethnic groups are prone to violence in northern Ghana. There is the need to shift our research focus from the use of ethnicity, chieftaincy and land as causal factors of conflict to their interpretation, perception and employment in the process of social identity formation, interests and perceptions of the other. Very often through narratives an enemy is created out of the "other" and violence towards then justified.Download Clement Aapengnuo Thesis

Exclusionism is the Mother of all Violence

Most of the conflicts in Northern Ghana do not seem to make any sense to the casual observer. Shortly after the northern conflict of 1994, the so-called guinea-fowl war, someone commented. "As for these northerners... let us send them an articulator truck load of guinea-fowls and the conflict will be over". On the Dagbon conflict another comment..."what is the big deal about a dead man, the man is dead and will never come back to life bury him and get on with life". Other comments like "why can you people just live in peace"? I guess if things were this easy, such comments would not be necessary in the first place. What is often missed out is that there is a dynamic, a pattern in conflict which when it grips a group of people plays itself out. The sad part of the story is that the people involved are often not aware. First a conflict does not just happen over night. It takes a long time during which people are prepared to see the need to carry out the violence. It is often presented in such a way that one has the choice between the violence and total annihilation. This is the myth and the lie of violence. It is such a powerful myth that once you buy into it, it gives you meaning and like a drug hooks you on. It becomes self perpetuating and self destructive and like any other addition difficult to get out of it. According to Dr. Bartoli, "Violence breaks the order that is existing. That which is normally not permissible becomes permissible, and that which is exceptional becomes the rule. Violence is very exhaustive and to continue over time and space violence must be fed and regenerated, used and prepared. Violence can only be sustained in an enmity system where everything is defined by the prevalent and overbearing presence of enmity and enemies. Violence therefore creates a kind of new order, an enmity system to respond to the human need for certitude in front of the unknown". There is a logic in violence which thrives on a system of exclusion. Any form of exclusion however benign creates the conditions overtime for violence. To understand our conflict we must look at our systems of exclusion.  

Elusive Peace in Dagbon

The Dagbon conflict has gotten a long of coverage spanning from out right cynicism to blissful ignorance. The conflict however follows "to the letter", the dynamics of violent conflict. Every conflict has a short life span and to keep it going the protagonists must generate some events to put spark into the conflict. The dagbon conflict is a very normal conflict that can be resolved if the powers that be want to work towards peace. What Dagbon needs is a sustained dialogue similar to a truth and reconciliation commission. Everybody is talking about justice before peace. First which of the justices are we talking about? retributive, distributive, or restorative? What kind of a justice is it which will just isolate the death of the king as the issue to be dealt with? What about the situation, structures and conditions which made such a crime possible in the first place? A justice that will lead to peace is a justice that is all inclusive, a justice which seeks to disqualify the myth and lies of violence, a justice which is both a journey towards reconciliation and a safe and sacred space for reconciliation. It is possible, but what is needed is a process which will identify, isolate and challenge the perpetrators of the violence, the so called leaders of the families. A process that will expose the myth and lies of violence, a process that will expose the injustices in the system which is often covered up with the powerful word "tradition". A process that will allow the voices of reason which were silenced at the beginning of the conflict, to resurface, a process to which we begin with the premise that we have all been guilty in bringing the calamity of the death of the king and the subsequent violence on ourselves. But we must be ready for it. What we tend to forget is that war and violence is addictive, it is a force that gives meaning to people (Chris Hedges). Yes peace is possible in Dagbon, yes the ground work and the structures are there. What is needed is the political will and resources.