EXPLORING POLITICS OF LAND GOVERNANCE REFORMS IN NORTHERN GHANA: THE NAWURI CASE STUDY IN PERSPECTIVE

Purpose: There is no denying the fact that when it comes to land governance reforms particularly the digital transformation of land governance in Ghana, the Nawuri situated in the Northern Ghana around Trans-Volta Togoland is a very crucial case. Theoretical reference: This paper provides a historical analysis of digital transformation of land governance in Nawuri where many ethnic groups are prominently involved in land conflicts as a case study. Methods: Data was collected through an in-depth interview with the chief, elders and other stakeholders in Nawuri. Secondary sources were drawn from peer reviewed academic research in land governance and digitization disciplines, official publications by land professions (particularly surveyors, lawyers and planners) and government. This paper explores how initially or prior to digital transformation of land governance, there was some form of peaceful land governance among ethnic groups in Nawuri but now the place is bedeviled with protracted conflicts. Results: Findings revealed that by contrasting the experienced of the first decade of the digital transformation of land where the land governance got transformed by the British gave impetus to a conceivable idea that perhaps it was an act which set in motion the enactment of ethnic ideologies. Implication of research: Indeed, those ethnic ideologies discovered corroborate the researchers’ argument that it fueled the ethnic conflicts in Nawuri in Northern Ghana till recent time. Originality/value: The study concludes on the basis of the archival sources and field interviews responses that the experience of the Nawuri vis-à-vis the digital transformation of land governance has been responsible for the persistent conflicts in Nawuri. And that an attempt to introduce land reforms such as digitalization in land governance provoked resistance. The paper argues that such problematic case had largely be blamed on the politicization of digital transformation of land governance.