IMANI Africa has delivered a stark assessment of Ghana’s growing identity crisis, arguing that the country’s historical foundation of shared purpose is being weakened by deepening fractures along ethnic, religious, political, and socio-economic lines.
The think tank noted that Ghana, unlike nations bound by a single ancestry or language, emerged as a nation through shared history – its colonial experience, the pre-independence constitutional evolution, and the unification of territories that culminated in independence on March 6, 1957. That collective identity, the brief suggests, is now under strain.
“We are a people of multiple groups with very distinctive cultural heritage and language. Although there are claims of cultural linkages and certain common lingual foundations, respective practices and communal structures do differ”
IMANI Africa
IMANI traced the trajectory of Ghana’s nation-building, recalling the turbulence that characterised 1966 to 1992, a period marked by military rule, human rights abuses, and economic decline. It emphasised that the return to constitutional rule ushered in democratic stability and relative freedoms that have endured.
Yet IMANI argued that the expected development dividends of this stability remain unrealised, “creating frustrations that feed polarisation and disillusionment.”
A block of tensions, IMANI stressed, has re-emerged across the national landscape, weakening the ideals long believed to anchor the country’s cohesion. It highlighted economic injustice, state capture, land conflicts, and political polarisation as forces reopening old wounds and digging up buried resentments.
Ethnic and Religious Intolerance
One of the most troubling concerns raised is the rise in ethnic and religious intolerance that threaten to tear up the fabric of Ghana’s social cohesion.
IMANI referenced recent heated debates over the use of the Ga word “Oobake” (“Welcome”) on public signage in the Greater Accra Region – a dispute that cascaded into harsh ethnic exchanges online and revealed entrenched prejudices beneath Ghana’s reputation for hospitality.
“On the sidelines, this subtle request erupted into spiteful conversations on ethnic superiority across many social media platforms. Although no violent physical confrontations were recorded, the brutal exchanges emphasized deep divisions across ethnic lines and very uncompromising stances when it comes to tribal and ethnic conversations”
IMANI Africa
The organisation warned that the hostility displayed online reflects how easily national harmony can unravel.
Supporting its analysis, IMANI cited Afrobarometer’s Round 10 data showing that 66.8% of Ghanaians distrust people of other ethnic groups, while 66.3% distrust those of other faiths. Additionally, 10.7% say they would prefer not to live next to people of different ethnicities or religions, underscoring the depth of the divisions.
“The data further revealed that some 11.9% of Ghanaians loathed to be neighbours with others from a different political party. These revelations from the recent data suggest how the country is divided not only along political lines, but also along religion and ethnicity. The revelation makes one wonder then about the state of national identity in the country”
IMANI Africa
The policy centre explained that these numbers reveal a society increasingly defined by group boundaries rather than national solidarity, adding that “only 15% of Ghanaians feel only national identity.” IMANI argued that such a low figure signals a crisis, as fewer citizens primarily identify as Ghanaian, even when combining ethnic and national identity.
The State, Social Contracts, and Weakening Trust
IMANI further revealed that citizens are drifting towards ethnic, religious, and political identities because these groupings appear to offer more emotional and social security than the state.
The group stressed that “national identity is not formed in a vacuum;” it requires a reciprocal system of input and output between citizens and government. When this cycle breaks, people turn to tighter, more protective group loyalties.
It cited disillusionment captured in Afrobarometer findings showing that 78.4% of Ghanaians believe the country is in a bad economic state, while 66.9% rate their personal living conditions as poor, noting that over 60% of citizens have considered migration – primarily to North America and Europe – largely due to economic hardship and the search for better opportunities.
“When citizens have made their input into the system, they, by extension, expect the output from the government. Consistent output and input create a cycle of trust, which increases citizens’ pride in their country.
“But when religion, ethnicity, or partyism gives to its followers more than what the state is mandated to provide per the social contract, then it is not surprising we see a dwindled national identity”
IMANI Africa
The group argued that where the state fails to deliver, group affiliations rapidly fill the vacuum, undermining national cohesion and opening space for hostility toward perceived outgroups.
Religious Cases
IMANI drew attention to tensions surrounding the Shafic Osman v. Attorney General suit, in which a Muslim student seeks the right to worship on campus at Wesley Girls High School.
The organisation noted that the passionate public reaction – across religious bodies, social media, political actors, and traditional authorities – shows the urgency of addressing religious grievances through dialogue and non-adversarial channels.
“These developments emphasise the need for efforts to put the matter to rest in an alternative dispute resolution,” it added, maintaining that while ethnic, religious, and political identities hold intrinsic value, they should not supersede national identity.
IMANI concluded that the weakening of that identity reflects a broader failure of the state to provide security, fairness, and belonging and called for renewed national commitment. It argued that Ghana must rebuild trust through fairness, justice, and inclusive governance to prevent further decay of national cohesion.
Without addressing economic hardship, political division, and social mistrust, the brief warns, national identity will continue to weaken – placing Ghana’s stability and future at risk.
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