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| The King of the Gonja Kingdom |
Origin and Migration of the Gonja Kingdom
To the south-west of Mamprugu, Dagbon, and Nanumba emerged the kingdom of Gonja. Available historical evidence suggests that Gonja was founded by Mande warriors and traders from Mali led by Wadh Naba or Nabaga perhaps in the second half of the sixteenth century. They were attracted by the southern trade which had developed in the area between the Black and White Volta. Nabaga was believed to have been sent on an errand by the Mande Chief to find out why there was a fall in the supply (export) of gold to Mali. Nabaga however failed to carry out the orders of the Chief and rather set up a military base at Yagbum around AD 1554. With help from Dyula Muslims in Begho, Nabaga launched an army of Ngbanya horsemen against the indigenes. He defeated, for example, the Guan-speaking inhabitants on whom he imposed Gonja authority. Bono which was considered a threat to the existence of Gonja in the area was defeated in 1595. Between 1623 and 1666, the King, Ndewura Jakpa or Lanta (fifth Gonja kings after Nabaga) led an invasion against Dagomba. He carried out further conquest taking the important salt-producing centre of Daboya from the Dagomba. Jakpa also defeated other states in a number of major engagements and founded several towns and villages including the important market centre of Salaga. It was Jakpa who expanded the territories of the Gonja.
The role of Ndewura Jakpa Lante in the expansion of the Gonja Kingdom
Some of the major contributions of Jakpa towards the expansion
of the Gonja State in the seventeenth century are as follows;
1. Sumaila
Ndewura Jakpa defeated the Bono in 1639. This defeated contributed greatly in
the expansion and development of Gonja. Bono, the first Akan state to emerge,
had posed a great threat to the existence and survival of Gonja. From
historical records, at the time of Gonja’s emergence and rise, Bono as a
powerful state was already in existence. Bono was expanding to absorb its
neighbouring states such as Dagomba and the Guan. This was a threat to the
survival of the Gonja state in the sense that it could easily be conquered and
absorbed as a vassal state. In view of this, Jakpa Lanta’s ability to defeat
Bono in 1639 removed the Bono threat to Gonja from the scene. This paved the
way for Gonja’s expansion.
2. Another
significant role of Jakpa in the expansion could be observed from the role he
played in the Malian expedition to Begho in the sixteenth century. Indeed there
was a prosperous gold trade between Mali and the northern part of Ghana,
especially, Begho. In the sixteenth century, however, the supply of gold from
Begho to Mali fell drastically. To find out the cause of the problem, the Mansa
of Mali sent an expedition, led by Jakpa, to Begho. It was reported that on
their arrival in northern Ghana, the expedition never returned to Mali. The
Mande invaders settled in northern Ghana and began an expansionist programme
which saw the defeat of Dagomba and their subsequent rule by the Mande
invaders. This defeat contributed towards the expansion of Gonja in the sense
that now Gonja did not have any formidable contender to that region. The way
was then paved for the easy and rapid expansion of Gonja in that direction.
3. Ndewura
also contributed towards the expansion by conquering and absorbing their
western and eastern neighbours. It is on record that Gonja extended to the area
of the confluence of the White and Black Volta, as well as further eastward as
far as the borders of Nanumba, hence, pushing the Dagomba further north and
east. All these expansionist activities occurred under Jakpa Lanta.
4. Lastly,
in pre-colonial Ghana, Daboya served as one of the major source of salt
production. In fact, on mainland Ghana, Doboya was the only place where salt
could be obtained through extraction from salt impregnated rocks. This
emphasizes the significant of Daboya in the context of salt production in
Ghana. Meanwhile, Daboya was controlled by Dagomba, serving as a major source
of revenue to the state, Jakpa conquered Dagomba and took control of Daboya.
This gave Gonja a lot of revenue to embark on wars of conquest.
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