Sokodé

History

Ancient indigenous stock of the region mixed with more recent migrants of Gurma, from the eastern part of the Niger Bend, between Ouagadougou and Niamey, who brought the political system of chiefdoms with them. Added to this structure were Western Sudanic traders and craftsmen (the Mandinka, from historic Mali) and Hausa, a dynamic force since the 16th century. By choosing, in late 1897, to establish an outpost at Sokodé, Germans entrenched the role of the now dominant Kotokoli chiefdoms. The city developed in precolonial times as a commercial crossroads on the Kola nut route between Ghana and Benin. Currently it is center on the only north-south road in Togo, linking the capital Lomé to Burkina Faso. Urbanization accelerated during colonization. The city consists of older villages that have now become neighborhoods. Sokodé continues to be governed by a system balanced between a municipal administration and traditional chiefs. Historically, the chiefs of various villages were included in a leadership council, the Tchaoudjo.

Geography

Sokodé's region is characterized by a dense network of rivers and hilly terrain. The two main rivers are the Kpondjo and Kpandi, which flow into the Na which in turn feeds the Mono River. The border between the Mono and the Volta River drainage basins is located a few kilometers north of the city. It is now in the catchment of the river Mô.

Most-observed species

• Straw-coloured fruit bat

  Eidolon helvum (Kerr, 1792) · Mammalia
  2
• Piapiac

  Ptilostomus afer (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2
• Pied Crow

  Corvus albus Statius Muller, 1776 · Aves
  2
• Common Bulbul

  Pycnonotus barbatus (Desfontaines, 1789) · Aves
  2
• Bronze mannikin

  Lonchura cucullata (Swainson, 1837) · Aves
  2
• African Thrush

  Turdus pelios Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  2
• Eurasian Kestrel

  Falco tinnunculus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2
• Dysdercus superstitiosus (Fabricius) Fabricius

  Dysdercus superstitiosus (Fabricius) Fabricius · Insecta
  1