CONFLICT AND ITS RESOLUTION IN NORTHERN GHANA: EXAMINING THE CAUSES AND INTRACTABILITY OF THE BIMOBA-KONKOMBA CONFLICT IN BUNKPURUGU YUNYOO DISTRICT

Abstract

The Konkombas and the Bimobas have lived together since the beginning of the 17th century. They however started fighting each other in Bunkpurugu Yunyoo since 1985. The Government of Ghana, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and the Nalerigu Traditional Council have all made concerted efforts to end the conflict but it remains intractable. The question to ask is "Why did the conflict break out in 1985 and has since defied the combined efforts made by the government, traditional councils, religious bodies and NGOs to resolve it?" To answer this question, a study was carried out. The study adopted a mixed method design. About 102 respondents were randomly selected through a multi-stage sampling technique and 30 key respondents were added through purposive sampling technique bringing the total sample to about 132 out of a total population of about 80486 people. The data gathered through survey and interviews revealed that the main causes of the conflicts were chieftaincy, land ownership and poverty, and that the conflicts remain intractable because of the unwillingness of the Nayiri, the overlord of Mamprugu Kingdom, to resolve it due to perceived benefits, the need to remain victorious by both parties and large scale unemployment. The study further revealed that the main conflict resolution mechanisms available in Bunkpurugu Yunyoo are the Police and Military, the Traditional Council and the legal system and that these were unable to end the conflicts because of the top-down approach they adopted. On the basis of these it was recommended that an independent and neutral mediator acceptable by the two parties be found to replace the Nayiri in the mediation efforts, lands should be properly demarcated and indigenous methods of conflict resolution such as blood burial and land cleansing that have a bottom-up approach should be adopted in resolving the Bimoba/Konkomba conflicts.