| Conventional Long Name: | Western Togoland[1] |
| Common Name: | Western Togoland |
| Native Name: | Togoland de l'Ouest |
| National Anthem: | |
| Capital: | Ho |
| Official Languages: | English |
| Regional Languages: | Ewe, Dangme, Avatime, Tafi, Logba |
| Religion: | Christianity Islam West African Vodun |
| Demonym: | Western Togolese |
| Leader Title1: | President |
| Leader Name1: | Togbe Yesu Kwabla Edudzi (de facto) |
| Sovereignty Type: | Unrecognized |
| Established Event1: | Independence from Ghana declared |
| Established Date1: | 25 September 2020 |
| Area Km2: | 20,550 |
| Population Estimate: | 4,000,000 |
| Population Estimate Year: | 2017 |
| Status: | Unrecognised State |
Western Togoland (French: Togoland de l'Ouest) is a self-proclaimed state which is considered by the international community to be part of Ghana. It claims five of the Volta and Oti Regions. On 25 September 2020 separatists in Western Togoland declared independence from the Republic of Ghana.[2] [3] Western Togoland has been a member state of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) since 2017.[4]
The German Empire established the Togoland protectorate in 1884. Under German administration, the protectorate was regarded as a model colony or Musterkolonie and experienced a golden age.[5] During the First World War in 1914, Britain and France invaded the protectorate. After the German defeat and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the western part of Togoland became a British mandate, British Togoland, and the eastern part became French Togoland. After the Second World War British Togoland became a United Nations Trust Territory that was under British administration. In the 1956 British Togoland status plebiscite, 58% of the western Togolese voted to integrate into what would in 1957 become independent Ghana.[6] [7]
On May 9, 2017, the Homeland Study Group Foundation (French: Fondation du Groupe d'étude de la Patrie) unsuccessfully tried to declare the independence of Western Togoland. On May 7, 2019, the national executive of the Volta separatist group, Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF/FGEP), Emmanuel Agbavor has rejected claims that the group had a militia.[8]
On September 25, 2020, secessionists demanded that Ghanaian Security forces leave the Volta Region after attacking several police stations in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region. In a press statement declaring their secession from Ghana, the Homeland Study Group Foundation under the leadership of Charles Kormi Kudzordz declared sovereignty over the area.[9] The Government of Ghana did not take the declaration seriously, viewing it as a "joke", although prominent security expert Adib Sani urged the government to treat the issue as a national security risk.[10] There have been injuries and deaths in the clashes following the declaration of independence[11] though the Republic of Ghana claims to have gained intel on those clashes before they occurred.[12] Ghana sources claim the secessionist group heading the independence movement, the Homeland Study Group, is under control.[13] However, the secessionists took over arms and set up road blockades. The president of the Republic of Ghana has denied negotiating with the secessionists.[14]
About 4 million people live in Western Togoland. Languages of Western Togoland include English, Ewe, Dangme, Avatime, and several others. The main religions are Christianity, Islam, and Voodoo. The majority of the people in this region are ethnic Ewés.
Ghana and other nations consider this movement could lead to an undesired adverse reaction. The WTRF could follow in the wake of other secessionist movements in the region such as those in Anglophone Cameroon, which quickly turned into an open armed conflict with the Cameroonian government. This risk could be combined with others, such as the expansion of Jihadist movements.