Who We Are

The Zaamani Peace Institute

The Zaamani Peace Institute was established in 2018 in Accra, Ghana, with a singular mission: to bridge the gap between traditional African conflict resolution mechanisms and contemporary peacebuilding practice. Founded by Dr. Alhassan Yakubu, a scholar of indigenous governance and peace studies, the Institute emerged from two decades of field research documenting the sophisticated mediation systems employed by traditional authorities across Northern Ghana.

Our name, “Zaamani,” derives from the Dagbani word for “time” or “era,” reflecting our conviction that the wisdom accumulated across generations of peacemaking holds essential insights for addressing the conflicts of the present day. We operate at the intersection of academic research, community practice, and policy advocacy, working with schools, traditional authorities, civil society organisations, and government institutions to promote sustainable peace.

Since our founding, the Institute has engaged 47 schools through our Peace Clubs programme, facilitated mediation in 186 community conflicts, and produced 24 peer-reviewed research publications on traditional conflict resolution. Our work has been recognised by the Ghana National Peace Council, the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Ghana office.