Regionalism And Political Development In Northern Ghana

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Download or read book Regionalism and Political Development in Northern Ghana written by and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis examines the phenomenon of regionalism as it occurs in the northern portion of the West African state of Ghana. For purposes of political analysis, a region is defined as an area whose inhabitants feel themselves or their area to be different in some significant way from the rest of the state in which they live. An attempt is made to view the question of regionalism from the perspective of both the people of the region and the national government, and to define basic strategies which regional leaders and movements might adopt towards the rest of the country. Northern Ghana, which comprises about two-fifths of Ghana's area and between one-quarter and one-fifth of its population, is distinguished from the rest of the country by climate, vegetation, natural resources, and ethnic distribution, including languages, customs, religious influences, social and political organisation, and historical experience. The nature of British colonial rule over the North, beginning about 1900, tended to reinforce certain aspects of North-South differences. The North was treated as a separate administrative unit, and different policies were pursued in such areas as education and local administration. By and large, the British did little to develop the North or to promote North-South integration. After 1945, Northern Ghana experienced major social and political change. By establishing a regional consultative council, the British provided a forum where the emerging Northern elite, at first together with the traditional rulers, could discuss grievances and current events. By the late 1940's, the British belatedly took steps to integrate North and South, recognising that the South was moving rapidly towards independence. Many Northern leaders hesitated to support integration and independence because they feared that the North would be dominated by Southerners, perceived as essentially hostile to Northern interests. Northern-representatives; suddenly thrust into national politics, at first attempted to act as a neutral bloc and remain aloof of party politics, but they soon broke into two factions, reflecting two differing approaches on the best means to advance regional interests. One group favoured joining the dominant nationalist party headed by Kwame Nkrumah, while the other group preferred to form a regionally-based party, the Northern People's Party. Throughout the ensuing period of political conflict in the North, local issues were frequently as important as regional or national ones in determining alliances. After independence in 1957, the central government moved against regionally- or sectionally-based opposition, of which the NPP was a main element. Soon the NPP disintegrated, with many of its leaders passing over to the government, while others went into exile or were imprisoned. Formally, Northerners participated in the government in a variety of ways, but in reality, they had little real power, except in certain matters pertaining to their own region. The aftermath of the coup which overthrew Nkrumah in 1966 witnessed on the one hand the entry into positions of influence in the central government of many of the old regional opposition, and, on the other hand, the rise of a younger generation of Northern leaders who took up the cause of their region, which they felt had been betrayed by the older politicians. Economically, the North always received a relatively minor share of government attention; nevertheless, the gap between the North and the South in levels of social and economic development appeared to be narrowing up to 1966, after which the situation is not clear. In the minds of many Northern politicians, the gap keeps widening. Despite this, the North has achieved considerable integration with the South, and at the same time, a strong regional sentiment is now a part of the political tradition of the North.