Citizenship, Indigeneity, and the Experiences of 1.5- and Second-Generation Fulani Herders in Ghana

Mary B Setrana

doi:10.1177/00020397211002940

Abstract

Issues of indigeneity and citizenship rights for second-generation pastoralist migrants across the West African States have received little to no attention in migration and pastoralist studies. This article explores this under-researched area in the field of migration studies and revisits the highly contested migration–citizenship nexus among Fulani herders in the Shai-Osu-Doku and Agogo traditional areas of Ghana. The article captures the crises of citizenship facing descendants of Fulani herders and families, particularly in relation to their integration into local host communities. I argue that second-generation migrants remain at the margins, spatially and socio-politically defined, of both development and society. While they do not have any ties with their ancestral “home countries,” they are also considered non-citizens and face growing hostility in the places they call home. Being a citizen is not simply a static legal position, but a status developed through routine practices, building relations, and shared experiences.

Highlights

This article explores an under-researched area in migration studies and revisits the contested migration–citizenship nexus using the Fulani herders in the Shai-Osu-D oku and Agogo traditional area of Ghana as a case in point
Brosché and Sundberg’s (2018) work on Darfur in Sudan illustrate a case in which the state fuels conflict by favouring the “sons of the soil” over the so-called “outsiders.” Adesoji and Alao (2009) argue that the rigid definition of citizenship is a major cause of conflict between farmers and herders in Nigeria
The legal definition of citizenship poses a challenge to the herdsmen, at the community level, strategies such as speaking the local language, being able to marry from the community, and having long-term residency were the means by which herders and their families adjusted to their local communities, and described these as evidence of being Ghanaian citizens

Summary

Introduction

This article explores an under-researched area in migration studies and revisits the contested migration–citizenship nexus using the Fulani herders in the Shai-Osu-D oku and Agogo traditional area of Ghana as a case in point. Keywords Ghana, citizenship, Fulani, herders, indigeneity, 1.5- and second-generation

Results

Conclusion