Emmanuel Ababio Ofosu-Mensah - MIASA - Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa

Professor Emmanuel Ababio Ofosu-Mensah is the Head of Department of History at University of Ghana, Legon. He is an Economic and Social Historian with special interest in Mining in West Africa and issues in Migration in the West African Sub-region. He is an alumnus of the University of Ghana and has published extensively in various peer reviewed academic journals in Scopus. His articles and book reviews have appeared in some of the most prestigious journals in the field: Africa Today, Journal of Africa History, Journal of Asian and African Studies, International Journal of African Historical Studies, and the Journal of West African History. Based on extensive and previously unused primary documents and a variety of secondary sources, those articles are of the highest quality. Professor Ofosu-Mensah Ababio is also a Nova Science publisher and the title of his current books are The Slippery Paths of Commemoration and Heritage Tourism: The History of Gomoa Nsuaem and Its Slave Route (2024) and Economic, Social and Political Impact of Mining in Akyem Abuakwa from the pre-colonial era up to 1943 (2017). He has a masterful command of the historians craft, has maintained active scholarly record, reflected in publication in print, book reviews and conference papers.

His interest and specialization in Mining history has seen him presenting papers and chairing sessions of international conferences such as International conference on mining and mineralogy to be held in Munich Germany in July 2021; African Studies Association of the U.K biennial conference (AASAUK) held at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom in 2018; the symposium of Archaeology and History of Material culture in Africa and in the Africa Diaspora, held at the Federal University of Mina Gerias at Belo Horizonte in Brazil in November 2016; The XV Balkan minerals Congress (BMPC) held in June 2013 in Sozopol Bulgaria; and the 9th International Mining History Congress (9th IMHC) held in Johannesburg South Africa in April 2012.

MIASA Project: THE THREAT OF ILLEGAL MINING TO HUMAN SECURITY: THE CASE OF KONONGO ODUMASI TRADITIONAL AREA IN ASANTE (ASHANTI) REGION OF GHANA

THE THREAT OF ILLEGAL MINING TO HUMAN SECURITY: THE CASE OF KONONGO-ODUMASI TRADITIONAL AREAS IN ASANTE (ASHANTI) REGION OF GHANA

Ofosu-Mensah Ababio

Abstract

The global gold production system consistently demonstrates its significance and resilience against various crises that impede sustainable development. Notwithstanding the problems associated with gold production, it has become a significant source of income for numerous African youths. This study contends that informal gold mining simultaneously promotes and undermines community wellbeing and safety. Numerous studies have examined the relationship between informal gold mining and environmental sustainability. Nevertheless, concerns regarding human security have been insufficiently addressed, despite the detrimental impact of informal mining on human security. This research addresses the relationship between informal mining and human security in the Konongo and Odumase traditional areas of the Asante Region in Ghana.

The focus of my work will be

To investigate the nexus between illegal mining activities and how they threaten human security in Konongo and Odumase traditional areas.
Identify and explain the causes of illegal mining and its implications on human security.
To suggest ways of sustainable mining and reducing the impact of illegal mining on human security in Konongo and Odumase Traditional areas

Methodology

The research will employ an exclusively qualitative design, defined by a stringent analytical framework. A total of 34 participants will be recruited using a purposive sampling technique based on their subject matter expertise. The participants included informal miners, both local and immigrant, smallholder farmers, youth, traditional leaders from the Konongo and Odumase communities, as well as associations of artisanal miners and smallholder farmers. Participants will be selected to facilitate a comprehensive examination of the complexities related to informal mining and community security, with particular emphasis on its impact on food security, health security, economic stability, environmental concerns, disruption of livelihoods, and potential for conflict.
I will examine journal articles and books regarding informal mining in Ghana and other nations. Primary archive records will be examined.

Conclusion

The study will enhance the academic discourse on the impact of illegal mining on human security in Ghana and the broader West African region. Additionally, it will contribute to the ongoing dialogue regarding informal mining in Ghana, addressing existing gaps in the literature by examining its implications beyond socio-economic and conventional security threats, particularly its effects on human security. From a policy perspective, the study aims to provide recommendations to mitigate or eliminate its detrimental consequences.

Selected publications

NATURE	CITATION
Book	Ofosu-Mensah E.A (2024), The Slippery Paths of Commemoration and Heritage Tourism: The History of Gomoa Nsuaem and Its Slave Route. Nova Science Publishers. ISBN: 979-8-89113-654-0
	Ofosu-Mensah, E.A. (2017). The Economic, Social and Political Impact of Mining on Akyem Abuakwa from the Pre-Colonial Era up to 1943. Hauppage, New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. ISBN: 9781536118117
Refereed Journals	Martha Aliba and Ofosu-Mensah E.A (2024), A Historical Exploration Of Women’s Production Of Fante Kenkey At Yamoransa In Ghana’s Central Region. Cogent Arts and Humanities DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2024.2335795
	Ofosu-Mensah E.A (2023) Property rights and conflict in Gomoa Nsuaem, Ghana’s Central Region. Cogent Arts and Humanities, Volume 10, Issue 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2023.2223412
	Ofosu-Mensah E.A (2023) Traditional Gold Mining In Akyem Abuakwa In Ghana’s Eastern Region. Sustainable Extraction And Processing Of Raw Materials Journal, Vol. 4, August 10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58903/u17190832
	Emmanuel Ababio Ofosu-Mensah, Property rights and conflict in Gomoa Nsuaem, Ghana’s central region, Cogent Arts & Humanities, 10:1, DOI: 10.1080/23311983.2023.2223412, (2023)
	Ofosu-Mensah E.A (2021). Transformation of Artisanal Small –Scale Mining (ASM) in Ghana: From Pre-Colonial to the Modern Era. The Journal of African Policy Studies, Volume 27,No.1, 2021
	Ofosu-Mensah, E. A. (2019). The Politics of Property Rights: The Case of Akyem Abuakwa, Ghana (1912–1943). Journal of West African History, 5(1), 83-113. ISSN 2327-1868
	Adum-Kyeremeh K., Ofosu-Mensah, E.A. & Agyemang, K. J. (2018). Colonial Boundaries and Chieftaincy Disputes in Gyaman. Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana. New Series,18, 1-20.
	Asamoah, K., & Ofosu-Mensah, E. A. (2018). Fruitlessness of Anti-Corruption Agencies: Lessons from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice in Ghana. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 53(7), 987-1001. DOI: 10.1177/0021909618762575
	Ashong T., Sapong N.Y.B., Smith V.E., Ofosu-Mensah Emmanuel Ababio (In Press). Albert Adu Boahen: An Agent of Change in African Historiography and Ghanaian Politics. International Journal of African Historical Studies.
	Ofosu-Mensah, E. A. (2017). Historical and Modern Artisanal Small-Scale Mining in Akyem Abuakwa, Ghana. Africa Today, 64(2), 69-91.
	Ofosu-Mensah, E. A. (2017). Political Corruption in Ghana: A Case Study of the Colonial Akyem Abuakwa Traditional State. Issues in Political Discourse Analysis, Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 5(1), 41-59. ISSN: 1941-7209
	Ofosu-Mensah, E. A. (2017). Mining in Ghana and its connections with mining in the Brazilian diaspora. The Extractive Industries and Society, Elsevier. 4(3), 473-480.
	Ofosu-Mensah, E. A. (2016). Mining in colonial Ghana: Extractive capitalism and its social benefits in Akyem Abuakwa under Nana Ofori Atta I. Africa Today, 63(1), 23-55.
	Ofosu-Mensah, E. A. (2015). Mining and conflict in the Akyem Abuakwa Kingdom in the Eastern Region of Ghana, 1919–1938. The Extractive Industries and Society, Elsevier 2(3), 480-490.
Book Chapter	Anarfi J.& Ofosu-Mensah, E. A. (2018). A Historical Perspective of Migration from and to Ghana. In Awumbila, Badasu &Teye (Eds), Migration in a Globalizing World: Perspectives from Ghana (pp. 51-71). Legon- Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers. ISBN: 978-9988-647-11-7
	Ofosu-Mensah, E. A. (2016). Obuasi- Sabara Connection. In Olhares Cruzados (Eds), Brazil Ghana Meeting of Eyes (81-100). Sao Paulo, Brazil: Reflexo Editora. (English and Portuguese). ISBN: 978-85-88120-16-7

Interdisciplinary Fellow Group on Sustainability in West Africa’s Gold Mining Sector

IFG 11

With calls for sustainable societies and ecosystems becoming ever more vocal, the global gold production system continues to prove its importance and endurance in times of multiple crises. This IFG studies sustainability ... Read more

Institute:
University of Ghana

Year:
2024/2025

Interdisciplinary Fellow Group:
IFG 11