Mahama Yiremia, an 85-year-old man, claimed to be the Bawku-Naba and Head Chiefs of the Kusasi Area.
He stated that before he was appointed the Bawku-Naba by the Nayiri, he was a farmer and a Councilor.
He was the Chairman of the Agolle Local Council and the Mamprusi District Council's Finance and Staff Committee.
He also served as Yorugu-Naba.
He added that after the death of Na Awuni, the late Bawku-Naba, he went before the Nayiri at Nalerigu with other Bawku Princes as contenders for the skin of Bawku.
These competitors carry a basket comprising a cap, a rope, a pair of sandals, a spear, knife, and axe, as well as a lighter.
These are the items required for the Nayiri to officially install the Bawku-Naba.
The horse of the late Chief is also brought to the Nayiri.
He stated that according to custom, as soon as the Bawku-Naba died, the contesting Princes sent to inform the Nayiri individually that they wished to inherit their father's skin, but that the final word rests with the Nayiri, who appoints one of them to be Bawku-Naba on the advice of his counsellors in Nalerigu.
He stated that according to custom, as soon as the Bawku-Naba died, the contesting Princes sent to inform the Nayiri individually that they wished to inherit their father's skin, but that the final word rests with the Nayiri, who appoints one of them to be Bawku-Naba on the advice of his counsellors in Nalerigu.
The old man explained the typical procedure during the formal appointment and installation ceremony, and he also stated that he was frequently appointed as the Bawku-Naba by the Nayiri.
He explained the succession line from the very first Bawku-Naba (Mamprusi) in the person of Na Ali to the most recent Bawku-Naba, the Na Awuni.
He claimed to have seen Na Mamboda and that the Whiteman visited Gambaga during his tenure there.
He said that before that time, Whitemen passed to the north and back, but they never remained until the period of Na Zomgbeogo.
He had known Abugurago Azoka for more than 7 years and they had previously been excellent friends, chatting and drinking together.
He knew Abugurago's father, a fortune-teller who had lived all his life in a home behind the Bawku Court House.
He also knew Akamzongo, Abugurago's grandpa.
At Bawku, Akamzongo resided behind the Doctors' Bungalow.
None of the Abugurago's forefathers was ever known as chiefs.
No Kusasi man had ever been a chief.
There is no such thing as a Tindana who owns the property.
He is a fetish worshipper who has nothing to do with the land.
The Bawku post was constructed to protect the trade route between Mamprusi and Moshie.
The Bawku Skin was created solely for this purpose.
There are no highwaymen in the region now.
Highway robbery came to an end a long time ago.
Although such conditions no longer exist, the witness stated that he is still responsible for the Kusasis, Hausas, and other tribes in the region.
"The Kusasis have a history of stealing one other's women and fleeing to the south with them."
On this subject, I used to write letters to several leaders in the South.
The major goal of my authority here now is to keep the Kusasis from stealing each other's possessions.
In Mamprusi, the Nayiri ensures that all Mamprusis respect one another's rights, and I do the same here."
According to Mahama Yiremia, the Kusasis had no chiefs in the past, therefore the Nayiri assigned his son to care about them.
Except for the Mamprusi who serve as chiefs and princes, the territory is primarily occupied by Kusasis.
The witness went on to state that he did not believe a Kusasi man should govern over the Kusasis.
The Kusasi did not begin life as a chieftain.
They believe in abundant food production and consumption.
The Nayiri appointed the majority of Kusasi Chiefs.
The Bawku-Naba appointed and placed the canton heads of Kusasi.
The Kusasi are unfit to be chiefs.
They tend to kidnap the spouses of their people.
They are frequently summoned before the Bawku-Naba.
When the Nayiri appointed Na Ali, he was commanded to go and defend the trade route, but today we are urged to go and till the land and live off of it.
According to the witness, the word Naba is a Mamprusi word that is also used by the Moshies.
Although each tribe has its chief, the Kusasis have a Mamprusi Chief in the form of the Bawku-Naba, which dates back to Na Ali's rule.
He went on to say that the land in Kusasi belongs to the Nayiri and that the Kusasis are only caretakers for the Nayiri.
According to the witness, the gathering that watched his appointment and installation at Nalerigu included Mamprusis, Moshies, and Hausas, but after the installation, he went north to govern the Kusasis.
Without the sanction, will, or attendance of any Kusasi, his installation was complete.
He stated, among other things, that he had accomplished his goal and was no longer interested in Kusasi-related subjects.
The Nayiri had chosen him Chief of the Kusasis, and he didn't care what the Kusasis said or thought about it.
No one can deny that the Nayiri believed he was fit to be a chief.
His forefathers had followed the Nayiri, and now it was his turn: only members of his family could govern as chiefs in Bawku.
Abugurago's father was only a Nayiri Dawa Dawa tree keeper.
The fruits belonged to him, but the land belonged to the Nayiri.
Na Yakubu was the one who granted him command over the trees.
If the Nayiri wanted to kick him off the property, he could.
Nayiri owns all of the lands in the Kusasi region, all the way to the French border.
He owns land in Frafra, Bimoba, and a portion of Komkomba, as well as Bulisa, Kasena, and other locations to the north; Nayiri is free to do anything he wants with it.
The witness stated that he was aware that the Mamprusis liked him, but he was unaware of his popularity among the Kusasis.
He was unaware that some of the Mamprusi Princes in Bawku were opposed to his appointment and that they claimed to have nominated a rival candidate in the form of Dankamberi his nephew.
He stated that he would not be shocked if the Princes were against him because he had achieved considerable success among the alternative contenders, and they would naturally be jealous and maybe upset.
He said he had no idea the Mamprusis were awful rulers in Bawku.
Because he was not a thief, he did not enter Bawku at night as instructed.
The next day, when re-examined by his Counsel, the witness stated that he did not mean to indicate that he did not care about the people over whom he governed.
As a chief, he is responsible for the entire population, not just his wife and children.
He stated unequivocally that the Nayiri's word is definitive in things about the selection of a chief in Bawku.
The Kusasis are the Mamprisis' progeny, and God never intended for the Kusasis man to be a Bawku-Naba or even a leader at all.
THE CASE'S HISTORY
When the Slave Trade was still thriving in the North around 150 years ago, Na Atabia, the Nayiri of Mamprusi who lived in Nalerigu as his capital, sent his son Prince Ali to establish a post at Bawku and guard the trade route between Nalerigu and Gambaga in the south and Tenkudugu and Wagadugu in the north.
This was due to the Kusasi who lived in that area forming gangs of thieves and burglars, waylaying and robbing Mamprusi traders travelling to the North with their products and returning to the South with their slaves.
When compared to the Mamprusis, the Kusasis were backward and primitive.
The tribe was not well-organized, with suitable chiefs commanding respect and dignity among the tribesmen.
They undoubtedly had tribe chiefs and fetish priests who exercised the roles of chiefs.
The Bawku skin came directly under the Nayiri of Mamprusi from the moment Prince Ali erected what may be considered a police post at Bawku and has remained there to this day.
Since then, all Bawku-Nabas (chiefs) have been princes descended from the princes of Nalerigu.
Mizabaga, Mampaga, Mahamudu, and Mahama came after Ali (otherwise known as Seteen).
Bako was succeeded by Mamboda, Mahama II, Zongbeogo, Abuguri, and Awuni in that order.
Six Mamprusi Princes from Bawku challenged the skin after the death of Na Awuni the Bawku-Naba.
They all went to the Nayiri in Nalerigu to be appointed as the Bawku-Naba, but only one was successful.
Yiremia is an elderly guy who is half-blind.
His appointment took place on June 6, 1957, at Nalerigu, despite heavy resistance from the other princes.
At Nalerigu, the opposition continued, as several of these princes petitioned the Minister of Local Government against the appointment of the unpopular Prince Yiremia.
Meanwhile, in the North, everything came to a head the next morning at Bawku.
The Kusasis had assembled in full force at Bawku from the districts of Agolle and Toende and had elected Abugurago Azoka as Bawku-Naba and Kusasis Head.
On the subject, the government received a slew of petitions and submissions.
A serious scenario had developed, which might quickly escalate into a tribal war.
Attempting to conclude without doing thorough inquiries would have resulted in extremely significant repercussions.
As a result, His Excellency the Acting Governor-General established this Committee to investigate it and report its conclusions.
Nantoama, a special envoy from the Nayiri who came to represent the Nayiri, was the first witness called on the opposer's side.
His testimony is particularly compelling since it clearly describes the normal procedure for appointing and installing a Bawku-Naba at Nalerigu.
He was an excellent witness, and the Committee was impressed by his eloquence and candour.
His data, however, depicts the same relationship of master and servant, dominance and inferiority that the historians said existed between the Mamprusis and the Kusasis.
He said that since God created heaven and earth, no Kusasi man has had the privilege of being named chief, nor has the Kusasi man had the right of electing their chief except by appointment from Nalerigu by the Nayiri, therefore the Kusasis must not be granted that luxury today.
The Nangodi-Naba, Harold Amori Azuri, came next.
He is a Frafra leader who governs over his Frafra people.
He is a well-educated chief who has served on one delegation to England.
After claiming that the selection of chiefs in the Kusasi and Frafra districts is purely the responsibility of the Nayiri in Mamprussi, he revealed that he is a Frafra chief leading the Frafra people and that the Nayiri would never designate someone outside the Frafra gates to rule the Frafra people.
He stated that it was up to the Kusasis to determine whether they would elect their chiefs or accept Mamprusi men designated by the Nayiri to lead them.
Other witnesses, including two members of Parliament, testified in favour of the opposer.
Mr Mumuni Bawumia, M.P., was the first Member of Parliament.
He was an excellent witness who provided a detailed explanation of the Nayiri's typical method for appointing divisional heads in the Mamprusi State.
According to him, Divisional Chiefs are never elected but rather appointed by the Nayiri, who controls the land in Kusasi.
He said that the title "Tindana" implies "caretaker" rather than "owner" of the property.
He claimed that the Nayiri own the territory from the Dagomba area in the south to the French zone in the north, as well as the land from the French border in the east to the River Nasia in the west.
He did not trust the claim that the Kusasis are compelled to labour on Mamprusis farms.
According to Abugurago and Yiremia's evidence, the Mamprusis have not been rulers of Bawku since time immemorial.
Their reign began with the assignment of Ali, the son of Na Tampouri of Nalerigu, to defend the trade route between the Mamprusi and Moshi nations.
The question, therefore, becomes whether Kusasi leaders were controlling their people when Ali arrived in Kusasi.
The Committee believes that however primitive and unenterprising the Kusasis were in those days, they had leaders who exercised administrative and judicial responsibilities over their people.
It should be remembered that even the most primitive creatures have leaders.
If the account is believed, the Kusasis subsequently organized themselves into bands of robbers and harassed slave traffickers travelling to and from the North, it is also accepted that these robbers and highwaymen had commanders.
When Ali and subsequently the White monarchs arrived in Kusasi, the population were not sufficiently organized to fight the peaceful invasion and therefore submitted to the Mamprusi's reign under the Whiteman's overall power.
There is no record of the Mamprusi conquest, but it is acknowledged that in 1895, the Kusasis in the Kugri division beat Na Barriga's army and inflicted great casualties on the Mamprusis.
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