US embassy cable - 04ACCRA1760

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001760 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, PGOV, KISL, GH, muslim community 
SUBJECT: WA LEFT WANTING: AMBASSADOR VISITS A NEGLECTED 
REGION IN GHANA 
 
REF: ACCRA IIR 6 835 0082 04 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. The city of Wa, the regional capital of the Upper West 
region of Ghana, received its likely first-ever visit by an 
American ambassador on August 19. Ambassador Yates met with 
the regional minister, local religious and NGO leaders, and a 
small military detachment, all of whom were unanimous in 
their characterization of Wa as the poorest, most 
underresourced, and most neglected region in Ghana. 
Ambassador Yates reiterated the USG's commitment to 
development assistance in the region, and specifically 
reached out to Muslim leaders. Conversations with local 
religious leaders indicated that a trend in Islamic 'purism' 
is being imported from abroad and has raised concerns among 
locals on both sides of the Christian-Muslim divide. Military 
leaders expressed concern about local chieftancy disputes, 
which have grown violent in the past, and the Cote d'Ivoire 
border area. 
 
2. What would have been a two-day journey by 4x4 vehicle over 
bad roads was made possible by the C-12 DAO plane, which 
enabled Ambassador Yates, ConOff, PolOff, and DAO officers to 
pay a one-day visit to this remote province. Long-term 
resident U.S. missionaries and Peace Corps Volunteers were 
appreciative of the visit and also provided insights into the 
northern region. Several missionaries, resident in Wa since 
the seventies, said that no U.S. ambassador had visited 
during their tenure. End summary. 
 
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THREE CHALLENGES: UNLIKELY TO FADE SOON 
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3. In his courtesy call with Ambassador Yates, the regional 
minister of Wa, Mogtari Sahanun, indicated that the region is 
grappling with three major challenges: lack of water, a poor 
road network, and an underresourced education system. In a 
region that enjoys only one short rainy season a year (most 
of southern and central Ghana have two or three), portable 
water sources are scarce and agricultural conditions are 
sometimes desperate. This also forces the migration of many 
locals to other parts of the country, searching for work. 
With a poor network of roads in the area, such conditions 
further isolate the Upper West from the rest of the country, 
creating an 'island-like' condition for its population. On 
the education front, the region is sorely in need of 
qualified teachers and is unable to attract more to the area. 
U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers in this region who work in 
secondary schools face significant economic resource 
challenges. 
 
4. As in many parts of Ghana, traditional politics cut across 
central government politics. There are ongoing sensitization 
campaigns in the area calling for peaceful, violence-free 
elections. A traditional opposition NDC stronghold, the 
ruling NPP already faces an uphill battle in this region, and 
this effort is further hampered by the (NPP) regional 
minister's refusal to acknowledge the new traditional leader 
of the area (Note: there has been local disagreement about 
who should have been named the new Wa-Na chief). The NPP's 
inability to make good on promises for an improved 
north-south road network is a major factor in the campaign 
for this region. The minister described this project as 
'continuing and ongoing', alleging 50 kilometers of new roads 
were either paved or under construction since the Kufuor 
administration had begun, but there is little evidence of 
this so far. 
 
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ISLAMIC 'PURISM': A WORRYING IMPORT 
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5. Wa remains a strong Muslim municipality with one of the 
most negative intra-religious divides among the Orthodox 
Tijaniyas, the Sunnis, and the Ahmadiyyas. With varying and 
complex spheres of power, Muslim religious leaders in Wa 
zealously guard their positions and retain substantial 
influence on their followers. The overwhelming majority of Wa 
Muslims belong to the mainstream Orthodox and Sunni sects. 
Ahmadis are a significant minority that remain very active. 
Known locally as Ahl ul-Sunna, the Sunni sect is a 
Saudi-trained, Wahhabi-inspired group. It is notorious for 
leading a number of aggressive and bloody confrontations 
across the region. They attack and publicly condemn 
traditional Muslim practices like the production of charms 
and wearing amulets. The brand of Islam they see as 'pure' is 
that which they were exposed to in Saudi Arabia and other 
parts of the Arab-Muslim world. There have been instances of 
tension and violent confrontations between members of the 
Tijaniya and the Sunnis over doctrinal differences. The 
orthodox sect has persistently resisted the spread of the 
Sunni sect in the Wa area. The latter see themselves as very 
puritan and the right custodians of the Islamic tradition and 
resent taking subordinate roles in the communities. 
6. The Ambassador, PolOff, and U.S. military representatives 
met with the Chief Imam, a dozen other Imams and 
approximately 50 Muslim leaders in an unusual Tijaniya and 
Sunni gathering (Note: Two years ago, embassy PolOffs visited 
with representatives of the Ahmadiyya sect, and the regional 
minister named in para 3 above is an Ahmadi). After prayers, 
the spokesperson said on behalf of the Imams that the 
embassy's visit was received as a sign of the high regard 
America has for Islam. He thanked the U.S. for its role in 
ensuring peace in the world and pointed out that Ghana's 
northern Muslims are peace-loving. He reiterated that Islam 
stands for peace and said they comdemn acts of terrorism and 
violence in any part of the world. He also requested 
educational assistance for northern Muslims, stating that 
ignorance is Mohammed's greatest enemy. The Ambassador 
responded, bringing greetings from the U.S. Government and 
the American people, presented books as gifts and explained 
she had come to listen to their concerns. This visit also 
provided an opportunity to announce the upcoming opening of 
the American Corner Outreach center in Tamale on September 8, 
and to invite the Imams. 
 
7. The Catholic leader of an inter-faith dialogue in Wa, 
Father Aloysius Nuolabong, noted with concern the increase of 
numbers of younger Muslims returning from studies in the 
Arab-Muslim world. He said that youths travel to Saudi 
Arabia, Libya, Iran, and other countries - financed by 
scholarships administered through the countries' Islamic NGOs 
in Ghana - and subsequently return to Ghana with a newfound 
Islamic identity that challenges the local interpretation of 
Islam. Father Nuolabong also said that this trend has raised 
concern among local Imams (with whom he enjoys a very good 
relationship, to the point that he is referred to as "Father 
Alhadji"), who see the trend as potentially leading to 
violence and a breakdown of intra-Muslim relations in the 
region. 
 
8. The 70-year old Bishop of Wa, Reverend Paul Bemile, noted 
that this trend has included new, 'foreign' attitudes that 
affect the treatment of Muslim women. When younger Muslims 
travel to other countries and see women dress differently, 
and are exposed to the more fundamentalist interpretation of 
the Koran, they return to Ghana and view their local 
interpretation as inferior to the 'pure' interpretation. 
 
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THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE UPPER WEST/FGM 
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9. The Ambassador raised the issue of female genital 
mutilation (FGM) with several interlocutors because recent 
statistics indicate the practice is on the rise in the Upper 
West. Rumors abound that the illegal practice is much more 
widespread than is currently acknowledged, and that 'cutters' 
cross the border from Burkino Faso by night to perform FGM on 
young women. A local NGO leader was quick to point out that 
this ritual is often mistakenly viewed as a local Muslim 
practice, when in fact FGM is much more closely connected 
with traditional religions and cultural customs. Many young 
women who were not subjected to FGM at a young age are 
pressured to go through it when they are older, or face 
rejection by their communities. Bishop Bemile said the 
Catholic church is strong in the Upper West and that the 
church has many programs and schools which target female 
education - both formal and informal. 
 
10. In an area where educational opportunities are lacking 
for all, and young women are particularly vulnerable to 
illiteracy, the status of women in the Upper West remains 
quite low. Local and international NGOs have had some success 
in sensitizing local and religious leaders, and improvements 
have slowly emerged. 
 
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OTHER EVENTS 
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11. The Ambassador met with Peace Corps Volunteers to learn 
of local educational and environmental challenges from their 
first-hand accounts. She briefed the American missionary 
community, and the ConOff offered valuable American citizen 
services. The meeting with the AmCits and PCVs reinforced 
what had been learned from local officials - that the 
isolation experienced in the Upper West could be dramatically 
improved with better road networks and an infusion of 
investment into infrastructure and education. 
 
12. Ambassador and DAO officers met informally at the airport 
with a GoG military contingent that is usually based in 
Tamale, the capital city in the Northern Region. They are 
currently assigned to Wa to keep peace among local groups 
involved in the Wa-Na chieftancy dispute (see reftel for 
further detail). The military contingent resides at the 
Wa-Na's palace in Wa, but because this is a politically 
sensitive site the embassy delegation opted to meet with them 
at the air strip instead. 
 
13. As part of her trip to the Wa area, Ambassador Yates 
commissioned a USAID-funded water well at the village of 
Gudayiri, and specifically conveyed her hope that this 
development would improve the conditions for women in this 
village. 
 
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COMMENT 
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14. The observations by religious leaders on both sides of 
the Christian-Muslim divide about the import of Islamic 
purism into northern Ghana confirmed what embassy officials 
have heard in Accra. As the USG makes a point of reaching out 
to the far north on other fronts - water assistance, 
advancing the status of women, education - it is important 
that the Mission reach out to members of all Muslim factions 
there as well. In an area where violence and disputes arise 
predominantly from chieftancy and religious issues, it has 
the potential to become a flashpoint if the worrying trend of 
imported fundamentalism continues. The interfaith dialogue, 
under the leadership of a very capable priest, is an 
excellent initiative to address some of these tensions and 
merits USG support. End comment. 
YATES