LAMENTATIONS ON WHO IS A MUSLIM, A NORTHERNER AND A HAUSA.

Dear editor,

I have observed with great concern this particular problem ever since I understood what communication is about. You can call it ignorance or the lack of interest to learn something new about other people.The problem I have observed in majority of my Ghanaian compatriots is lack of understanding of the difference between a Northerner, a Muslim and a Hausa. I have tried in my own little ways on many occasions to try and explain the difference but I haven’t done a better job yet. Therefore am hoping you will allow me to use your platform to kindly explain the difference to your discerning readers.A Muslim by definition is a person who believes in the teachings and doctrines of the holy prophet Mohammed (SAW) and practices Islam as a religion. Therefore anyone who believes in this doctrine is a Muslim regardless of his tribe, race or colour. He or she could be a Northerner, Southerner or from any part of the world. Once he believes in Islam and adopts same as a faith, he is a Muslim regardless of his name. A Muslim could be a convert “Tuoba” or could be Muslim by heritage, having been born, bred and nurtured in a Muslim family and or environment.On the other hand, Hausa is a tribe originating mainly from northern Nigeria and southern Republic of Niger. The language is widely adopted within the Northern community of Ghana. It is believed most Hausa Merchants entered northern Ghana through trading activities which they practiced and continue to do so well, guided by their Islamic faith and principles. Soon the people of northern Ghana adopted the Hausa as a second language. Although not one of the indigenous languages of Ghana, Hausa was adopted as a lingua franca by the Northerners. It also became the language of teaching Islam to Muslims. Not only did Hausa spread throughout the nook and crannies of Ghana, it also expanded to reach Senegal in the West and Sudan in the East and even became an international language with international news networks like BBC, VOA and others broadcasting in that language.As for who is a Northerner?  Officially the word “Northerners”  is generally referred to all the tribes from the northern part of Ghana, namely: Northern Region, Upper West Region and the Upper East Region. These tribes include, Dagomba, Gonja , Mamprusi, Kusasi, Wala, Grunshi, Dagarti, and many others.Therefore, a Northerner who is practicing Islam as a religion of his faith can rightly be referred to as a Muslim Northerner, while those practising Christianity should be rightly referred to as a Christian Northerner. There are also northerners who do not belong to either of the two monotheist religions, but rather practice traditional beliefs. This shows the ethnic and religious diversity in the people of northern Ghana.Meanwhile, a person or group of persons speaking Hausa could be Hausa by tribe or just having adopted the language as a medium of communication with others without necessarily being a Hausa by tribe or a Muslim. This fact has eluded many people in Ghana for a long time and continues to do so unabated as many people just don’t understand, or rather, don’t want to understand for various reasons, and this is the problem I have been trying to explain all my young life.It is true that we have some Hausa’s who are Ghanaians by birth, having their roots from Hausaland as their ancestors migrated many decades ago, these are a small minority and many of them have also got Ghanaian lineage from one of the parents or grandparents through intermarriage. But it remains a fact that Hausa has arguably become the language of the Zongos, which are predominantly Muslim habitats with the Hausa language serving as a lingua franca for the various tribes living in the Zongos.   Therefore, the Zongo dwellers mostly have their mother tongue which they speak among themselves when they so wish but use the Hausa language to communicate with other Zongo dwellers who do not belong to their tribe or those they find it difficult to communicate with in their mother tongue.Therefore, to all those Ghanaians with this wrong perception I’d like to say: “You can never judge a book by its cover, but by its content”. The fact that a person is good at speaking a particular language does not necessarily make him one of them.Another area of misconception is attributing trouble making to a particular tribe or religious group or creed. It has become a general perception by some members of non-northern tribes in Ghana that all Muslims and Northerners are trouble-makers. This wrong perception can best be described as Xenophobia and prejudicial. Thuggery is not limited to a particularly religion, race, creed or tribe. Thugs can be found anywhere in the world and from any tribe.I’ll therefore appeal those with such a wrong perception to please find out the truth of any matter before passing judgements. The misjudgement against Muslims and Northerners without justification or actually finding out who the real perpetrators of an act of violence are is unfair, bad for socialisation and poses a threat to the peace and harmony our mother Ghana has been enjoying for time immemorial.In conclusion, I hope we’d all stop generalising blames and accusations and adopt a matured approach of preceding judgement with proper investigations and deliberation without fear or favour.

God bless our homeland Ghana.