 exclusion of Fulani in Ghana, but rather discusses them as broadly and as subtly seen in state/national and local policies narratives and presented through Ghanaian discourses.
‘Human mind must think with the aid of categories … and once formed categories are the basis for normal prejudgment. We cannot possibly avoid this process. Orderly living depends upon it’ (1954:20).
Importantly, the basis of the theory is that social biases are based on cognitive categories and that social categorization influences social perception and affects cognition and behaviour (Dovidio et al. 2010). In this study, the theory of social categorization allows for a critical interpretation of the situation of Fulani in relation to stereotypes and prejudices as resulting from social and cognitive categories and discursive interpretations.
‘The stereotype acts as both a justificatory device for categorical acceptance or rejection of a group, and as a screening and selective device to maintain simplicity in perception and thinking’ (1954:192).
Thus, stereotypes are both causes and consequences of prejudice but not always. Eriksen (2010:40) states that stereotypes ‘…are widespread in societies with significant power differences as well as in societies where there is a rough power equilibrium between ethnic groups.’ Stereotypes which are built over a long time become fixed and are difficult to change. We consider a group excluded when, based on its historical, political, cultural and non-citizenship status, it is subtly discriminated against.
Prejudices, stereotypes and discriminatory tendencies are often built between ethnic groups that relate to each other as autochthons and strangers (Lentz and Nugent 2000). Ethnicity is a very strong tool for political and social exclusion of other groups (Schlee 2008). It often comes together with ethnocentrism which includes judgments of others’ cultural values and a feeling of superiority over others. Ethnocentrism is coupled to prejudice, exclusion and discrimination and is used to organize the repression or domination of one group by another (Healey 2014). Thus, there are interlocking relations between prejudices and stereotypes and exclusion.
Fulani in Ghana
The Fulani are well-known in the anthropological literature for their skill in cattle keeping (e.g. Stenning 1959). The Fulani spread across West Africa and remain a minority in comparison to the so-called indigenous populations (Tonah 2005). They are also a minority in terms of power and access to resources in many states across West Africa. The pastoral Fulani are often moving across regions and national borders in West Africa. Ghana is a preferred destination for many of the Fulani pastoralists.
Fulani migration into Ghana according to Tonah (2005) is a recent phenomenon. The author notes that it was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that any significant Fulani presence in what then was Gold Coast was documented. The very first census in the Gold Coast in 1911 included Fulani because a number were found along the White Volta of northern Ghana. However, Fulani were seasonally moving southwards to Ghana long before the British arrived in the Gold Coast.4 Their first migration was to the northern part of present Ghana. Historically, according to Tonah (2005), three major reasons are responsible for Fulani migration into the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in the twentieth century: first, the expansion in cattle trade; second, the establishment and development of native farms by colonial authorities; and third, the Sahelian droughts of the 1970s and 1980s which forced herders to move with their cattle in search of pasture and water. Thus, the reason for Fulani presence in Ghana was economic and ecological. Since migrating into Ghana, some Fulani have settled permanently. Today, Fulani are found in almost all parts of Ghana where some are businessmen as well as engaged in many aspects of the Ghanaian society (see Oppong 2002). Their numbers in Ghana are not known, but they are estimated to be more than 14,000.5
Stereotypes, discrimination and pre