The Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Office (NABOCADO) of the Catholic Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga through the Integrated Peace Building for Improved Food and Nutrition Support (IN PEACE) project being implemented by the Good Governance, Justice and Peace Directorate Diosces with funding support from Misereor, is seeking the formalization and documentation of the role of Queen Mothers and the proper documentation of their enskinment procedure in the Upper East Region and the entire Northern enclave.
This, according to NABOCADO, will go a long way to help the various queen mothers to understand their role in the community, ensure proper inclusion, and prevent any form of conflict in the future since the selection process of a queen will be clearly defined and made known.
The Queen Mother concept though practiced in many jurisdictions in Ghana’s south for centuries, remains alien to Ghana’s north despite women previously playing a role in the traditional setup through what has become known as the Magazia.
With the gradual acceptance of Queen Mothers in the traditional setup, development watchers hold the view that in the case of the Upper East, Upper West, North East, Northern, and Savannah Regions where the concept is fairly new, the role and selection process must be clearly stated and documented to prevent conflict.
Speaking to Journalists Wednesday, February 14, 2024, on the sidelines of a seminar on the role of Queen Mothers in Peacebuilding, which brought together queen mothers from various parts of the Upper East Region, Dr. Joseph Ayembila, Human Development Coordinator of NABOCADO, noted that the chieftaincy setup is saddled with deep-seated conflict over the selection process hence the decision of his outfit to begin series of engagements aimed at helping in the proper definition of who a queen mother is, her role and how the person is supposed to be selected to prevent conflict in the various communities
According to him, the conflict being witnessed in some parts of the region and Ghana’s North is attributable to the undocumented nature of the enskinment procedure. He strongly believes that with dialogue and proper documentation, the case of the selection of the Queen Mother should be different and not become a major threat to people due to conflict.
“I think it is very necessary to do documentation regarding the Queen Mother’s selection, enskinment and have a very clear succession plan to prevent future conflict. Currently, we know our traditional structures, particularly in Northern Ghana; we have not got a written document that is legally gazetted in terms of a chieftaincy succession plan for the male. Now if you come to the Queen Mother, which is something that has just emerged, the question that you ask is, who is qualified, what is the criteria for selection, and the tenure of office and subsequent succession? And if these things are not documented, in the future, people are going to claim and counterclaim, and that will retard progress.” He stressed.
Paramount Queen Mother of the Naga Traditional Area, Pognaba Malsum-Tumpaele Ayamga I, who doubles as the President of the Queen Mothers Association in the Upper East Region, explained that their role needs to be clearly defined as some of them are being reduced to merely organizing their fellow women, adding that the selection of Queen Mothers could indeed pose a security threat if steps are not taken to clearly state how they are supposed to be selected.
“Some just think it is just about only coordinating activities amongst our fellow women but now they see the importance of the Queen Mother so if we don’t properly document the process, it will create problems.” The Paramount Queen Mother stated.
On his part, Director of Good Governance Justice and Peace Directorate of NABOCADO, Dr. Joseph Bangu, states that the engagements will see the organization engage the various chiefs as well to discuss the steps that must be taken to properly document the process of enskinment and clearly define the role of the Queen Mother.
“We targeted the Queen mothers because it is a new thing and how can we ensure that their role is spelled out and if they become institutionalized, how do we want it to be done so that the numerous chieftaincy-related issues we have don’t spill over to the queen mothership.” He added.
