Migration, Mobility and the Formation of In-Migrants’ Leadership among Dagombas in Ghana’s Capital City

This study focuses on the interplay between migration, mobility, and the emergence of traditional leadership among in-migrants within the capital city of Ghana. The issues of migration to the city have gained a lot of scholarly attention, but less on how migrants establish leadership among themselves in such a strange community. This study delves into the Ghanaian context to understand how chieftaincy titles are socially constructed, thereby shaping the emergence of leadership among individuals who have migrated within the country, particularly from northern to southern Ghana. The study employs a qualitative research design, where participants were purposively selected and interviewed through in-depth interviews, alongside participant observation, yet data was analysed through thematic network analysis. Findings revealed that in-migrant leaders within the capital city are often given chieftaincy titles and referred to as “chiefs” by their respective subjects with their accompanying symbols of authority. However, the modes of recruitment of these “chiefs” alongside their symbols of authority are all but socially constructed. These titles are pervasive across many communities in the national capital, Accra. The study concludes that despite the rapid transformation of modern Ghanaian cities, traditional systems of leadership have continued to enjoy the support of the people and persist through the newer forms of governance across various regimes. The study, therefore, undermines the prediction by the modernization theory that traditional forms of authority will wither over time amidst State transformation.