In this episode I'm speaking to Dr. Samuel Ntewusu, the director of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana in Accra.

Prof. Ntewusu is an expert in African history and politics and teaches African studies and specifically courses on chieftaincy and development in Africa. We talk about moral icons, chiefs, the impact of the display of wealth by Ghanaian politicians, how to be approachable as a teacher, and a lot more.

David Ehrhardt

Welcome back to Africa Knows. In this episode I'm speaking to Dr. Samuel Ntewusu, the director of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana in Accra.

Prof. Ntewusu is an expert in African history and politics and teaches African studies and specifically courses on chieftaincy and development in Africa. We talk about moral icons, chiefs, the impact of the display of wealth by Ghanaian politicians, how to be approachable as a teacher, and a lot more.

Here is Dr. Ntewusu.

Samuel Ntewusu

Yeah, so thank you. This is a very good opportunity to share my thoughts and perspectives regarding the chieftaincy institution. A little bit of myself is that.

Yes, I born in Ghana, schooled in Ghana until after my master's program, went to the Netherlands and then did my PhD at the African Studies center but got graduated at the History Institute in Leiden specializing in transport history under Jan-Bart Gewalt, Miriam de Bruyne and then Professor Robert Ross. Now the issue of chieftaincy has been…

I was introduced into chieftaincy research just after my first degree when I was hired as a research assistant at the Institute of African Studies under Professor Reno Duterte(?).

That time we had a FORD funded project called Chieftaincy and Development and were just to look at the extent to which we can trace issues of development and under development using the chieftaincy institution as a lens. So it's very interesting that you ask this question, the research on chieftaincy and how that more or less reflects or mimics modern day politics.

I tell people that I don't see any substantive difference between the two. Many think that they have some fundamental difference, but I don't see it that way.

So for example, if we take modern day governance, we elect politicians and then when we elect them, we also elect those who are to support them, like the parliamentarians. We have ministers and district chief executives that will have to help them. If we look at the chieftaincy institution, it's also like that.

So for example, there's a selection process, not an election process. But if we take out the R and the S, we still have more or less all of them. Selection, you understand, they are almost the same.

So for example, in most account based societies, if there's a vacant position, we normally say vacant stool which is a symbol of authority. We have the Queen mother that will have to select somebody, but then the selection of that somebody doesn't mean there's finality to it.

The individual will have to be given to council of elders or the kingmakers who then approve or disapprove. And we have had instances where they disapprove, so the system itself is democratic.

Once there is some element of rejection, and there's no element of imposition, it means that it is very democratic, after which the person will have to work with a council of elders. You can call them the cabinet in the modern sense.

And of course, the council of elders are also chiefs in their own rights, representing specific positions.

So what it then means is that almost every kind of resource, be it human or material or natural, has a way of finding its way into chieftaincy discussions and deliberations via the individual that has been selected as an elder responsible for that. So I think that there are a lot of similarities between chieftaincy and the modern forms of governments. Yeah.

David Ehrhardt

One question that I'm also… So, there's a lot of criticism of African politicians as being corrupt and all these other things.

But at the same time, I know that there are also ideals about in African communities, in African countries about what a good leader should do. Can we learn from chiefs about the ideals of African leadership?

Samuel Ntewusu

Oh, yes. So chiefs, for example, are supposed to be moral icons.

And when we talk of moral icons, we are talking about somebody that is supposed to be a living example for others to emulate. Largely, we have that in chieftaincy.

But you see, with the issue of corruption, it's a very interesting tag that is on almost all African politicians. But I also want us to look at corruption very carefully and be able to look at how come that certain… So, for example, if something doesn't get receipted, if you don't provide receipt for something, that amounts to corruption. But then we should also know that we still largely are dealing with a culture or a society that is not likely literate.

And therefore the generation of things like receipts become a bit problematic. So I'm not defending politicians, but there are some that have actually lived up to the expectations of trying not to be corrupt.

But they are also being frustrated by the system that doesn't have the documentation, so to speak, to back every transaction. There was a politician who shared a very sad story with me. He went to a restaurant to eat and he requested for receipts.

Now, these receipts were generated from ordinary receipt book. This is a restaurant, not a hotel. And he brought it for accounting purposes. And then the auditors rejected it.

Now we know that at least in the west, once you bring a receipt and the amount is not at radius, it is accepted.

But he said in order to maintain his credibility, he spent more fuel driving back because it was not accra driving back to that community to get a receipt that had the name of the restaurant or a VAT receipt. So you get it. Yeah. So this is it. You are very right.

So, yes, there's largely corruption, but I also think that it is because some of the systems have not been set in a way to be able to accommodate things like this, and therefore it leads to things like that.

David Ehrhardt

Yeah, I can imagine.

Samuel Ntewusu

Yeah.

David Ehrhardt

Elections are coming.

Samuel Ntewusu

Yes.

David Ehrhardt

What do Ghanaians expect of their leaders?

David Ehrhardt

What would be a good politician in the ganaian eye?

Samuel Ntewusu

I think that what we expect of a politician, a good politician now, is for somebody who will be able to offer good leadership.

Now, when I talk about good leadership, as we began, somebody that the youth will be able to look up to. We are seeing a gradual build up of anger and disappointment from the youth in relation to politicians lying to them that they will get jobs for them. They go in the sun, they stand in the rain, and then vote. And yet when politicians come, they do the opposite.

They fight only for their own interests and not the interests of the youth.

So I think that whoever wants to be elected should be able to prove to the youth that really they are in for them in terms of providing jobs for them and in terms of stabilizing the economy. I understand generally, globally, we have problems. Wherever I travel to, I've realized that there's an increase in prices of things.

It doesn't matter which part of the world you go to, there has just been an increase.

So I think that anybody who wants to be elected should also provide ways and means by which even if we have external shocks, we are able to minimize it somehow. And this can easily be done. I use the word easily be done.

Because if we are able to encourage our local industries, if we are able to let people understand that we need to consume what we produce, that might save us some money. So, for example, largely our importations have been… The money we spend has been on food, largely, be it rice, be it tomato paste, be it dairy products, you know, be it frozen foods, chicken, beef and everything. Meanwhile, we have the capacity to produce this. And under Kwame Nkrumah, we've already been producing that.

So I am not against internationalization of trade, but I'm also for a kind of governance system where we have issues of equity, where producers also within Ghana are able to derive the best out of their effort, you know, and when that is done, I think that will also reduce the pressure on the dollar. What is cutting the heat in the system is the kind of pressure that is on the dollar as a result of importation.

And so, if we are able to also rely on our local products, ensure that our local industries also thrive. There's a possibility of us being able to address so two things.

The issue of stabilization of the economy using internally generated modes of production such as local industries, and then ensuring also that the youth are able to get employment. The two are together because if you encourage local production, it means that you also indirectly solve the issue of unemployment.

And politicians should also avoid the one ton display of wealth and resources. I don't see why one politician is going somewhere and there are about 20 or 24 vehicles or following the person to where? you get it.

Drive from here to Tamale, drive from here to Bulgatanga to where you can just fly and then use the vehicles around there, you know.

So I think that the youth are also getting angry because they see an open display of wealth and resources by these politicians, you know, and if they don't take care, the youth might at a point in time, revolt.

David Ehrhardt

Maybe switch gears a little bit. On this podcast, we are also curious about the background of scholars.

And you started already saying you're Ghanaian, born and raised in Gana and then went to Leiden, but maybe a little bit more back to your youth and how you became an academic. Was this something you wanted to do from a young age or how did you get into academia?

Samuel Ntewusu

In actual fact, when I was growing up, I didn't want… I never thought of being in academia, I never thought of being an academic. Let me put it this way.

When I was growing up I was fascinated about traffic wardens. Yes. Because I was reading about policing and how they direct traffic and I was praying hard to be one.

And I really liked the kind of wood that was put in the middle of the road with white all over, dressed in white, with white gloves, stopping traffic and then directing this to date, when there's traffic, I jump out to do it. It's a passing down. So I really wanted to be a traffic warden, to direct traffic. That was my passion.

It was something that I had been dreaming to do. So then I went to the university.

Before the university I went to secondary school and I can say that secondary school up to sixth form, I really didn't know I would be an academic even though I was doing well. And when I also came to the university, I was training to be an economist and not a historian. So…

And you know what usually happens is that for those who apply for economics and business, usually the demand for the course is so high that they go for the best grades. Well, I had then that time it was called BBC. I got no,... I got ABC.

I got A in economics, which is my area of interest, and I got B in Business Management. I got C in Government. But cumulatively, if you put it together, that makes it a total of aggregate 8.

And that year the cutoff point was 7, so I couldn't make it. I was then given History, Philosophy and then Classics.

But I don't regret it because if you look at my writings these days, there's also a reflection of economics in it. So gradually I'm back. So this is my life trajectory. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And I must give credit to one of the professors, Professor Akwesia Pebi.

I became her teaching assistant and it was from there that she started grooming me to be an academic.

So she groomed me, handed me over to Professor Reynolds, Professor Reno Dete, connected me to Professor Atukwesin and then Professor Emmanuel Champon of Harvard. So that is how come I got connected to these academics and I began liking it. Yeah. Yes.

David Ehrhardt

Would you advise young people in Ghana to become academics today?

Samuel Ntewusu

It's a very interesting question. I do tell them that it's very rewarding for you to see that you are impacting lives.

But sometimes as compared to those in business, in terms of incomes, academics are not actually being well paid. And so that becomes a problem.

So for those who really just want to impact lives, they want to be able to share knowledge, they have a passion to affect the youth, they should come into the academy. But for those who think that they really need to make money, then they have to go into business.

Because in academic life you are not able to make money. It's a global issue.

David Ehrhardt

It’s true. What are the kinds of skills that you need to be a good academic here in Ghana or University of Ghana?

Samuel Ntewusu

Yeah, I think the skills one, you should be a very good researcher, you should be somebody who is also very friendly and sociable. I think this is very critical. You see, we are having… Society is changing.

In those times of community life where you grew up in the community, you need everything. Now life is becoming much and more and more nuclear where children wake up and then all they know is their father and mother.

There are some that don't even know their uncles. My children, for example, don't know all my uncles, uh, all my brothers and sisters.

So what it then means is that you, the teacher, you are going to play a very critical social role because when they are faced with social problems, the other will talk to their father and mother or they will talk to you, the teacher.

So I think that this is a critical skill that the issue of societal management should be an important and central component of those who are teaching. Another thing is to have very good research skills. The assumption is that the children are always hooked to their phone.

They don't read, they don't know,... No! they rather read more and they are informed more by TikTok, they are informed more by WhatsApp and that kind of thing.

So it means that they are so well informed that you also, you need to also be a very good researcher both in terms of books, in terms of what is going on with TikTok and WhatsApp in order to be able to answer their critical questions.

You know, because they get contributions, you know, if they are on a platform with 60 people and there's an issue and all these 60 people, it means that they have the mind of 60 people. Can you imagine coming to confront you with the minds of 60 people already?

So I think that we need to be very good researchers and then assess all these platforms.

David Ehrhardt

Yeah, it's an interesting point you made about the changing society and the reduction of community and the important role of teachers in this. Have you seen this change over the last… in your career?

Samuel Ntewusu

Yes, I've seen this change very much so.

For example, in class, in order to be able to gauge my students level both at the political, social, economic and academic level, I ask them questions that touch on this. And sometimes you ask them, oh, so who are your parents? They say this, where do they come from? Oh, they are from this part of Ghana.

Have you been there? No. So then you know that that person's community network in relation to ethnicity has been curtailed.

You know, and so I think it's becoming a very serious issue. And then you ask some of them, how many traditional rituals have you engaged yourself in or have you been part of? And they've done nothing.

So for example, I got initiated into the hunter's court and there's so much we learned. I asked them, nobody even knows anything about this. They think, why is this person interested in this?

But if I ask such questions, I'm able to tell the extent to which they are connected or disconnected from communities.

David Ehrhardt

And how do you then deal with this as a teacher?

Samuel Ntewusu

As a teacher, I usually encourage them to access knowledge systems from their communities.

You know, unfortunately, what is not helping us is western education as well as Christianity.

Now it's unfortunate, but I must say so, because the fact is that in those days that people, so now people know that, okay, I have this Western education and therefore Western medicine is the best for me. In those days, you didn't have that, if you were sick, your mind was quickly wired to your herbalist in the village.

And so whether you like it or not, you will make that trip to your village because you need that kind of solution and that kind of medication.

So what I tell them is that I tell them, yes, in as far as we are assessing western modes of knowledge, also go to the village and get the traditional one and add, you know, having more knowledge is better, you know, than having to leave the village knowledge, because there's a lot that you can learn from the community. You know, they have their own knowledge systems that are very useful.

So I tell people, for example, when you get educated here, survival skills are not impacted because you are training to get a certificate, hoping that that certificate will get you a job. But in the community, they teach you survival skills. If you get lost in the forest, this is what you have to do if there's no water.

These are the survival skills. That is not taught here. So I really interest them and to let them know that going back to learn from the community is also very important.

David Ehrhardt

Do you integrate this into the research too? Because you mentioned there are two things.

One is the community, the social aspect of teaching that is important for academics, and the other is being a good researcher, good research skills. Yes, of course, there are big debates about the epistemologies, decolonization of the epistemology. So this sounds like that.

So you integrate these local knowledge systems into research?

Samuel Ntewusu

I do, yes. So most of my students, What do I say? As a teacher, I would just tell you.

So my students, some are disappointed that I don't parlent too much with text because I am more practical in what I do. So we have class, and then I allow them to go into the community to identify topics of their interest and to write about. But in relation to the course outline. Some find it very fascinating, but some just, why wouldn't he just give us text to read? And some come back to tell me stories that we went to the community, we didn't get anything. And I tell them, no, you didn't do the work well. So I do that kind of integration. Yes.

David Ehrhardt

And do you also teach like, research methods?

Samuel Ntewusu

I do, yeah.

David Ehrhardt

Yeah, yeah. And what kinds? What are your methodological orientations?

Samuel Ntewusu

Yeah, so the research method I teach is what we call African historiography and methodology, where we expose the students to different kinds of historiographies, how they can be able to write a text that is historically interesting and appealing. So in that case, we expose them to the three core methodologies of writing good history. But we go beyond that.

You know, we have what we call source fetishism. And so as historians, we know that go to the archives, do interviews, use secondary literature.

I call that source fetishism because once you pick any historical piece, you expect to do this. But we go beyond that. I tell them, use much of observation, also use pictures, use music, depend on archaeology.

So this kind of multidisciplinary way of looking at history is what I integrate in my methodology, away from the standard mode of just reflecting on archives, on oral interviews, and then on published material.

David Ehrhardt

Yeah, yeah, very interesting. Maybe a last question.

Samuel Ntewusu

Yes.

David Ehrhardt

So there is this, at the University of Ghana, this one course that all students have to take on African Studies.

Samuel Ntewusu

Yes, yes, yes.

David Ehrhardt

What is the thing that you want students to learn in that course?

Samuel Ntewusu

Okay, so, when the Institute of African Studies was established in the early 60s, Kwame Nkrumah found out that there's a possibility that a student can go through a university system without getting anything about Africa. So the intent is that if a student is going to the University of Ghana, that person should also have…

The University of Ghana is in Africa. So if you are leaving a university like this, you should at least come out with some insights and perspectives about Africa. But it is up to you, the student, to choose which one that you want.

So if you come to African Studies, for example, we have several courses, and then it is up to the student to choose what they want. Some go in to learn about music, others dance. Others look at what we call appropriate technology.

And I did appropriate technology in my undergraduate. It's very fascinating. It teaches you how you can get quick solutions to things. So, for example, they provided you food. There's no plates. How do you eat, how do you serve it? Appropriate technology gives you the techniques of how you should be able to improvise immediately, something like that.

And then if somebody takes a course like population, you understand, the person understands the population dynamics in Africa, you know, so whether medicine engineer…. And I came across a medical doctor called Zach at the police hospital who told me that when he was doing African studies in the 70s, he said, what is this?

But when he started practicing as a medical doctor, he saw the use because the African social and political system that he took within it was witchcraft. And that most of the patients, when they come, already think that their sickness was caused by a witch.

So if you even provide them with medication, psychologically, they are not getting well, because as far as they see the person they suspect to be the cause of the sickness. They rush back to the hospital because the person has reinforced the spirit to attack again.

So then he starts from that angle to tell them, this is your sickness. Medically, this is what it is called. It is not you alone. Several people from all over the world suffer it.

And therefore, then they begin to calm down. This is how the cause is useful. You get it? I have taught students that have become police officers.

They are soldiers, and they send me text messages and say, your course on chieftaincy and development, we are in this village that they are killing each other because of the chieftaincy. They are able to quickly remember what I have told them in class. And then they then go for the rules of succession.

And then they ask, what are your rules of succession? So how come, if this person is not qualified in the first place, how did the kingmakers make the person king?

So immediately we are seeing that the course that we teach to all the students, they come back to testify that it's a good cause.

David Ehrhardt

Thank you very much, Prof. For your time. Thank you.

Samuel Ntewusu

Yes. Very grateful for the opportunity.

David Ehrhardt

Let's go get lunch.

Samuel Ntewusu

Yeah.

David Ehrhardt

Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Africa Knows.

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