An American Professor Emeritus, Debora Pellow has received a special honor from the Chief and elders of Greater Accra Zongo Communities.

Prof. Pellow was conferred with the title of Jakadian Sarkin Zongo Ankara na Turai (USA) to represent the Greater Accra Zongo Chief, Sarki Dr. Yahaya Hamisu Bako as the Ambassador in North America.

The conferment of the title to Prof. Emeritus Debora Pellow took place at the forecourt of the Chief’s Palace and has been described as the first and only honour to be conferred on a female in the history of Zongos in Ghana.

The honor was a reward for Prof. Pellow’s contribution to writing the history of the people of Sabon Zongo and how significant it is for the people of Zongo to be respected and considered true Ghanaians. In a book titled “Landlords and Lodgers” (socio-spatial organization in an Accra community) Prof. Pellow captured the formation of the Sabon Zongo community and the migration to Sabon Zongo.

Addressing the gathering, Alhaji Alhassan Suleiman revealed that the conferment was to acknowledge and show appreciation for Prof. Pellow’s academic research into the history and unique lifestyle of the Hausa community of Sabon Zongo which was established between 1907 to 1909. He revealed that Prof. Pellow’s persistence to complete the project which began at one of the most difficult times in Ghana’s history of enforced curfew was absolutely remarkable.

Prof. Emeritus Debora Pellow revived her project in the 1990s with the publication of one of her finest research works in 2002, titled “Landlords and Lodgers: socio-spatial organization in an Accra community and was published by Messer Praeger Publishers of West port connection, USA.

The publication, he said has exposed the people of Sabon Zongo in Accra, Ghana to the vast world of Academia and the world at large for which the people of Zongo are proud and profoundly grateful. Professor Emeritus Debora Pellow has also conferred the status of Citizen of Sabon Zongo in Accra, Ghana as she plays the role of Ambassador to the Greater Accra Zongo Chief Alhaji Yahaya Hamisu Bako in the USA.

Source: wadataOnline.com|Muhammed Faisal Mustafa