The Salaga Slave Market

Historical fact, regardless of efforts to sweep it under the carpet cannot be possible. No one can alter the course history took. Some have tried, though with futility, to rewrite history when such historical phenomenon has left indelible blot on the conscience of the perpetrators by leaving in its wake disastrous effects on its victims and humanity.

One of such unfortunate instances in the history of humanity is the slave trade. Trade in human as merchandise as well as perpetrators of this obnoxious act of atrocity by man against man should attract the condemnation of human rights activists and any person of scruples.

The West, by all measure, was the beneficiary of the slave trade. However, one cannot deny the fact that they had indigenous Africans as collaborators.

Centres designated for buying and selling of human being to be transported across the Atlantic to work on plantations in the New World (America) and the West Indies are some of the landmarks that show the roles played by the locals. They facilitated the capture of their kind for sale at these centres.  

One such centre in the East Gonja District in the Northern Region of Ghana is the Salaga Slave Market. Salaga served as a key market town mainly for the busy regional slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. Whosoever controls Salaga therefore meant having an upper hand in slave trade to the North and South of the Gold Coast. The chiefs who were controlling the township for that matter became the main sources of supply of slaves to buyers.

Unlike the fortes and castles which have dungeons for keeping slaves, due to the lack of storage facilities to keep the slaves in Salaga, they were taken upon arrival to the market square where they were shackled and displayed as merchandise waiting to be sold and transported across the Atlantic. 

Amazingly, the trade in slaves was not done with physical cash as money was then not in circulation in that part of the world. It was a pure barter trade where humans were exchanged with other commodities such as gunpowder and guns. Ludicrously, there was a chief who gave out a sizable number of slaves for a dressing mirror in return.

One unique feature of the Salaga slave market is the baobab tree in the middle of the market where the slave masters dumped dead slaves. In effect, the baobab tree served as a cemetery for the unfortunate slaves who kicked the bucket whilst on transit.

an artistic portrait of the original Salaga slave market

Salaga Slave Market is now a tourist attraction centre. Unfortunately, some of the relics and artefacts are in the possession of individual members of the community.

References

Ghana Tourist Authority

www.dearghana.com

www.ghana.travel

Local Market with International Content – the Story of “Kasoa Mamudu” of Nima

assorted cereals on display

People have been engaged in barter trade and the never-ending convergence of peoples globally to trade in goods and services to better their situation through the satisfaction of their diverse needs.

The exploits of Mamudu was therefore not an exception. In the early 1950s, Alhaji Mamudu, a Togolese national, was engaged in the trade of food items which he brought from Togo. Unknown to him, the centre of his activities, the Kasoa Mamudu (Mamudu’s market), was to take a centre-stage in the food distribution chain in Ghana and beyond. 

food items and spices 

The market is situated in Nima a suburb of Accra and the day for brisk business is Wednesday. The market host diverse economic activities that include but not limited to financial, transportation and porter services.

a typical market day with heavy human and vehicular traffic

Traders, mostly women, bring food items from all parts of the country and as far as Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo Niger, Benin, Nigeria and Ivory Coast. In serving their customers, this venture has been a great source of livelihood to the traders. The customer base of the traders transcends households to wholesalers, resellers, retailers, food vendors and institutions of State such as the security services and the school feeding programme under the Ministry of Education. Also, citizens from the sub-region come to the market to buy and sell wares. This local marketplace could be qualified for a microcosm of ECOWAS trade centre and a melting pot of nationals of the sub region.  

a trader vigilant over her goods

The success story of Mamudu’s Market, according to the Vice Chairman of the market, Maman Richard, would not be complete without highlighting some inherent challenges confronting traders. The pleas by the traders to the local authorities to improve the facility were unheeded despite the fact that the market has been a source of revenue for government through taxation.

In the face of the phenomenon of market fires in the country and other catastrophes, as well as harassments of traders by supposed landowners, the traders are thus appealing to the authorities to help forestall potential dangers to human lives and properties by reconstructing the market into modern facility. High tariff by the Custom Service is also a disincentive in addition to hindrance to the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement of goods and peoples of member countries.

Trucks arrived with wares waiting to be offloaded

The market serves institutions such as the security services, the school feeding programme, wholesalers and resellers. It is also source of livelihood for uncountable households scattered through the length and breadth of the country.