The Untold History of Togo’s Central Region: A Microcosm of Global Challenges
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Togo’s Central Region, often overshadowed by the coastal buzz of Lomé or the northern savannas, holds a rich and complex history that mirrors many of today’s global crises. From colonial exploitation to climate resilience, this region’s past offers lessons for a world grappling with inequality, environmental degradation, and cultural erasure.
In the late 19th century, Germany’s brutal colonization of Togoland (which included the Central Region) was driven by one thing: profit. The region’s rubber vines and palm oil became commodities in a global market hungry for raw materials. Villages were forced into labor, and resistance leaders like Togbe Agorkoli (a legendary Ewe king) became symbols of defiance.
Sound familiar? Today, multinational corporations still exploit African resources—cobalt for smartphones, cocoa for chocolate—with little regard for local communities. The Central Region’s history is a stark reminder that colonialism never truly ended; it just changed uniforms.
After World War I, France took control, dividing families with arbitrary borders. The Central Region’s Tem and Ewe peoples found themselves split between British Gold Coast (now Ghana) and French Togoland. This legacy of division fuels modern debates about nationalism and migration.
Centuries ago, the Central Region was a mosaic of dense forests and fertile valleys. Colonial deforestation for cash crops like coffee and cotton set the stage for today’s climate struggles. Now, erratic rains threaten smallholder farmers—70% of the region’s population.
Did you know? The Fazao-Malfakassa National Park, one of Togo’s last green bastions, is shrinking due to illegal logging and charcoal production. This isn’t just a local issue; it’s a carbon sink the planet can’t afford to lose.
Droughts have revived old conflicts between herders and farmers. The Sotouboua clashes of 2019, where Fulani pastoralists clashed with Kabyè farmers over dwindling water, echo crises from Sudan to the American West. Climate change isn’t coming—it’s already here.
Globalization threatens indigenous knowledge. The Gangan (talking drum) traditions of the Central Region, once used to send messages across mountains, are now fading as youth flock to cities. Yet, apps like YouTube ironically preserve what urbanization erases—a paradox of our times.
The Central Region is a spiritual battleground. Ancient voodoo shrines coexist uneasily with booming evangelical churches funded by American megachurches. This tension reflects a global trend: the weaponization of faith in culture wars.
In the 1990s, political violence under Eyadéma’s regime forced thousands from the Central Region into Ghana. Today, those same borderlands host refugees fleeing jihadist violence in Burkina Faso. History repeats, but the world’s attention drifts elsewhere.
While Ukrainian refugees dominate headlines, Central Togolese displaced by climate and conflict remain invisible. Why? Algorithmic bias. Stories from places like Sokodé don’t trend—a harsh lesson in whose suffering "counts."
Grassroots projects, like the Kpalimé Solar Initiative, show a path forward. Instead of waiting for foreign aid, villages are harnessing sunlight—literally and metaphorically.
Women in Tchamba are reviving pre-colonial matrilineal land rights to fight corporate land grabs. Their movement, #NoToStolenEarth, connects with indigenous struggles from Standing Rock to Australia.
The Central Region’s history isn’t just Togo’s story. It’s a lens to examine everything from climate justice to digital colonialism. The question is: Are we listening?