Zongo settlements
Zongo settlements are areas in West African towns populated mostly by settlers from Northern Sahel areas especially from Northern Nigeria. A common feature of the Zongo community is their predominant use of Hausa language as their lingua franca. "Zango" which is wrongly spelt as "Zongo" itself as a word is derived from the Hausa language which literally means "a settlement of Hausa speaking traders". Ghana. Collectively referred to as "Zongos", Zongo communities are found in all 16 Regions of Ghana with much denser populations in Greater Accra and Ashanti regions. The earliest bustling Zongo communities in Ghana started  in Salaga and by the first quarter of the 19th century similar communities were already established in Tamale, Yeji and Ejisu. The largest and one of the oldest Zongos close to the coastal belt started in 1810 at Ushertown (Zangon Mallam or present-day Zongo-Lane) before they were resettled at Sabon Zango followed by Nima (1836). In the present day, Zongo communities in Ghana are a microcosm of people from the lower and middle classes of tribes from both northern and southern Ghana, as well as immigrants from neighboring countries including Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mali, Ivory Coast, Niger, etc . The Hausa's from Northern Nigeria are the pioneer settlers of the Zongo. The early settlers constructed makeshift houses with the intention to work hard, raise some capital and return to their locality. As it has usually been with immigration, many adopted their new found place as their permanent home. Benin. Zongo Communities are common in Benin with large settlements found in Parakou, Ganou and the port city of Cotonou.