Changing image of the North

There is a perception that the southerners or better still those who hail from Southern Ghana have about our brothers and sisters from the five regions in Northern Ghana and I am compelled to add my small voice. 

What is that narrative about "Srem fuo" or the other derogatory one that I lack the courage to say here? It is not a good narrative though, but the very privileged people from northern Ghana, be they business elites, the middle class or the intelligentsia have refused to correct that.

Somehow, these groups of enlightened people from Bolga, Tamale, Nalereigu, Damongo have accepted to live with this stigma.

Years ago, especially during the colonial era, the north was seen as a place for cheap labour and raw materials, and indeed, the people from the area were mostly security men and farm labourers on cocoa farms.

Those who were aware of the development architecture of Ghana knew of the development triangle that focused on Accra, Sekondi Takoradi and Kumasi and their adjoining areas.

That our railway network was the triangle connecting Accra to Takoradi and Kumasi, to a large extent transporting the raw materials of cocoa beans, gold, timber, diamonds, bauxite and manganese to the port of Takoradi and later Tema.

Our first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, tried to reverse this inequality and lack of inclusiveness in the distribution of the national cake by introducing the free secondary education for children from the north.

Many children of northern extraction took advantage of the policy to improve their status and those of their children; it did not end poverty, disease and squalor in the area.

The development disparities between the global north and the global south is repeated in reverse gear in the case of Ghana. This was characterised by the dependency theory, where the development architecture promoted a relationship that made it difficult for northern Ghana to enjoy financial autonomy just like their counterparts in southern Ghana.

The trip to Bolga

Recently, I embarked on a trip to Northern Ghana, particularly to the Upper East in the company of other members of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) and Secretariat staff members to inspect petroleum revenue projects.

That was in the month of August and your humble servant led the PIAC Team. Our trip from the Tamale International Airport to Bolgatanga was quite normal but for the number of potholes on the road that compelled us to dance involuntarily in our cross-country vehicles and the depressing sight of withering maize, millet, sorghum and other crops because of a seeming drought.

Before this normal one-hour journey to Bolgatanga which now takes two and half hours, PIAC Administrative Officer, enterprising Philomena Otabil, who was in charge of housekeeping, decided it was time for lunch.

She took us to a " friendly" spot called Luxury to "refuel" the stomach for the journey to Upper East.

For a long a time, Luxury offered me my favourite dish, "tuozafi, green and bittor", eiisshhiii, how can I forget the grilled "akonfem", besides my never-to-be-missed "akple" and "adem3 detsi" or "bobi tadi" at home. Philomena Otabil, who is reading a post-graduate programme set the tone for our menu during the seven trips that took us to Paga, Navrongo, Bolgatanga, Zuarungu , Garu and the Tamne Dam, where work has been ongoing since 2015. There is a culture in this country which must be tamed, and that is the spectacle of uncompleted projects and projects that never get completed.

There are a couple of projects which never get completed; this includes the Tamne Dam which started in 2015, and the Anomabo Fisheries College, which began in 2013 and still ongoing.

These projects are being funded with petroleum revenue. When we got to Bolgatanga and concluded check-in formalities at the Akayet Hotel, it was almost dusk, and after the heavy tuozafi meal, some of us decided to rest.

That was not to be as Philomena Otabil who acted as timekeeper would not let us rest. We must earn our stipends. We met the media in the Upper East Region that evening as part of our engagements with stakeholders to seek their support in the discharge of the PIAC mandate.

Other members of the Team, Ms Yorm Ama Abledu, representing the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Edward Yaw Afriyie, representing the Association of Ghana Industries and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mark Agyemang, Technical Manager and Enoch Baiden, Administrative Assistant had to be always whipped in line by Philomena Otabil to meet our timelines.

Finally, we were in Bolgatanga to discharge the fully packed itinerary, thanks to the "magnanimity" of Isaac Dwamena, the Coordinator.

The culture shock

Down south, I have always had the impression that the people in northern Ghana are different by way of socialisation. We are told in Accra that the northern people are violent, lazy, malnourished, dirty and behind civilisation or what is modern. 

I had my culture shock in Bolgatanga where we were greeted by well-paved roads, neat environments, green surroundings of trees and farms, while cows were fighting for space on busy streets in Accra with pedestrians and motorists.

Another fascinating scene was the respect for traffic regulations by motor riders of all genders. The most delightful sight was female riders, mostly teachers, nurses, civil and public servants, traders and farmers riding to their places of work.

They do not meander through traffic causing breaches on the road but take to the side of the road in order to obey traffic rules. At one stage I wondered whether I was in dreamland. I asked my colleague, Yorm Ama Abledu, whether what we were observing was real or a dream. It was real.

It is believed that if our brothers engaged in okada business in Accra played by the traffic rules, there would be less of the anguish we see at the accident centres of most hospitals in southern Ghana.

But the question is if our compatriots up north do not fit the garb southerners have put on them, why are the leaders not debunking these narratives by a section of the public? I can state without doubt that our brothers in north are more disciplined than most of us down south.

However, why is it that, the northern leaders including chiefs, teachers, journalists, doctors, engineers, presidents, vice-presidents and MPs have allowed these negative narratives about "srem fuo" to fester and gain ground throughout the country.

My seven days in Bolgatanga have exposed this propaganda as I saw northerners, both male and female as hardworking, trustworthy, honest, environmentally friendly and more especially very hospitable. 

The people of Bolgatanga and other places in the north are not violent, wielding cutlasses and other offensive weapons on the streets.

The case of Bawku is an exception but that too shall pass soon. Nonetheless, I have an axe to grind with my very close associates such as Alhaji A.B.A. Fuseini, MP for Sagnerigu, Philip Apasera, my classmate at then School of Communications Studies, Legon, his brother David Apasera, one-time MP for Bolgatanga East, current MP for Bolgatanga East Dominic Ayine and Minister of Finance Mohammed Amin Adam for not leading the assault to correct the biased narratives about the northern people.

I plead with A.B.A. Fuseini to use the power of his proverbs to change the negative reportage about the north and I assure my northern friends that I am a willing ally. I know ally rings a bell in the "tympanic membrane" of MP Fuseini.

We cannot forget our glorious days with The Mirror newspaper with our friend Abraham Kofoya Tetteh creating the pathway for the "brotherhood."

But on a serious note, we all need to rebrand the north to play their role as the bread basket of the country and a more disciplined labour force. Perhaps, the large numbers of kayeyei or head potters create this negative image of the north because of the environment in which they live in Accra and Kumasi.

Maybe, the government's interventions to provide hostels for the kayeyei or head potters as well as skills training will soon end this dehumanising situation that these girls and their children find themselves.

Petroleum-funded projects/Engagements

The team inspected a number of oil revenue-funded projects and had engagements at Bolgatanga and Paga to explain the work of PIAC to members of the public and the university community at the Bolgatanga Technical University.

The Bolgatanga engagement involved community members at the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs. At all the engagements, the people appealed to the government to stop imposing projects on the people from Accra but make sure decentralisation worked.

According to them, the phenomenon of parachuting projects from Accra must stop, while the district and municipal assemblies should be made part of the project implementation so that they can monitor progress of work.

The people insisted on the need for the government to complete work on the Bolgatanga to Naga road, that opens up the region to other commercial centres as soon as practicable.

Another road project of concern to the people is the Paga to Sirigu road, where a bailey bridge has been destroyed by an articulated truck curtailing movement between Paga and Sirigu.

During our visit, the high point was the inspection of Agenda 111 projects in Garu and Paga, which at the time of the visit was about 80 per cent complete. These projects are not just mere district hospitals but a true health facility with all the complement of services at any tertiary hospital.

The Team cannot give thumbs up for all the projects we inspected. Some of the projects we inspected were showing signs of deterioration. Community involvement in the award and execution of all government-funded projects including those funded by oil revenue will cure the phenomenon of shoddy works.

Expressing his position on the PIAC engagement, Naba Francis Awineparigiya Anaafo I stated his satisfaction with the engagement but he asked that he should be made more regular to update the people about the management and use of the oil revenue.

He spoke about erratic power supply and a boost in economic activities to improve livelihoods.

Naba Anaafo urged the country to speed up work on the Paga to Sirigu road, Navrongo to Mirigu road, Navrongo to Naga road, Bolga to Naga road, Bolga to Sirigu and Navrongo and Sandema in order to open up the area for economic renaissance.

Tourism

Nobody visits Paga without having a"ride" on crocodiles in the Paga Crocodile Pond. On the day of our visit, attendance at the pond was low. Our guide took us to a section of the pond where there were two crocodiles, one looking very menacing and the other small one very calm, but I was terrified.

I told the guide I was afraid of the reptiles because I have always had the premonition that some bad family and community members were looking for me, so I stay away from obstacles. But he insisted I behave like a man. I mustered courage and first sat near the tail. 

Later when Philomena Otabil sat on it without trouble, I became emboldened to have fun with the crocodile. And can you imagine that I became so fascinated with the crocodile to the extent that I went and carried a young boy behind his mother's bike to go and sit on the crocodile.

Indeed, the boy nearly collapsed and I had to quickly carry him back to his mother, a teacher. Let us invest more in the Paga Crocodile Pond to earn more revenue. The Ghana Tourism Authority led by Akwasi Agyemang should team up with district assemblies to make our tourist sites more attractive.

The Paga border post was another sight to behold, especially when by the Bond of 1844, the French and English created some artificial boundaries for us. 

The Sector Commander showed us the demarcations, which indicated in some instances where part of the same family house was in Burkina Faso and the other part in Ghana. So those in that house and other settlements will call themselves, "BurkinaGhana."

Another thing we noticed was the absence of the "No man's land" as brisk business went on there. At the time of our visit too, there was a very long queue of articulated trucks waiting their turn to cross over to Burkina Faso.

This talk about Ghana importing tomatoes and other vegetables from Burkina Faso has been received with a pinch of salt because the country is sahelean in nature. That is true but Burkina Faso people also import from Ghana, same tomatoes and fruits. We should not break bones about this development, for after all, it promotes intra ECOWAS trade.