Bright Future for Ghana after 50 years of Independence

INDEPENDENCE ARCH OF GHANA

By Mawutodzi K.Abissath

Ghana is celebrating her 51^st Independence Anniversary this year. In other words, 51 years ago Ghana wrenched her political independence from colonial Britain to become the first independent country in black Africa on 6^th March, 1957.

It is common knowledge that before independence Ghana was known as the Gold Coast. The struggle for the independence had not been easy at all. The independence was not granted on a silver platter. People had to shed tears and blood. Lives had to be sacrificed here and there. This explains why the first sentence uttered by Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah on the even of the proclamation of independence was: “At long last, the battle has ended; and Ghana, our beloved country, is free for ever!” What battle was he talking about?

It is therefore imperative that any time we celebrate the independence anniversary of this blessed land called Ghana, we must never forget to pay tribute to our national heroes. Do you remember that on 28^th February, 1948 war veterans like Sergeant Adjetey, Corporal Attipoe and Private Odartey Lamptey were gunned down like armed robbers when they went to present a petition to the Colonial Governor of the Gold Coast at the Christianborg Castle at Osu in Accra? What crime did they commit? Indeed, it was their blood that galvanised the momentum and served as catalyst for the legendary BIG SIX to go for the gold –the INDEPENDENCE. These BIG SIX who were collected and dumped in jails across the country, were they armed robbers? These are among the greatest national heroes we must pay homage to whenever we are popping Champaign and tinkling glasses for independence celebrations today. For they shed their blood for us to enjoy all the freedom we are sometimes abusing today.

On March 6^th, 2007 when Ghana was celebrating the Golden Jubilee Anniversary of her Independence, H.E. President J.A.Kufuor made a very simple but profound statement when he addressed the nation. He said, and I quote: “It is a great time to be Ghanaian!” That simple but philosophical declaration by President Kufuor can be analysed, interpreted and fashioned out into volumes by this author for posterity. Why it is a great time to be Ghanaian, one may ask?

To answer that rhetoric question, let’s take a glance at the theme for this year’s 51^st Independence Anniversary Celebration, which is: GHANA AFTER 50: LOOKING FORWARD INTO THE FUTURE WITH HOPE. Without any stretch of imagination, it can be concluded that this theme is not only appropriate but also most thought provoking and the best at the threshold of the next 50 years of Ghana’s independence anniversary. In other words, the 51^st anniversary marks the first year of the Centenary or 100 years of Ghana’s nationhood. Because Ghanaians are human and cannot not be too sure of what the future holds in stock for them as a nation, they can only hope for the best. This is why Looking Forward into the Future with Hope is fantastically relevant.

There is this French proverb which says: “Every intelligent traveler ought to know where he is coming from and where he is going to.” After 50 years of independence, Ghanaians as intelligent people doubtlessly knew where they came from and they want to go from now on. Politically, the past 50 years had been fraught military coup d’etats that really dealt some deadly blows to the nation’s forward march towards good governance and democracy. Is this situation the nation would like to experience again in the next 50 years?

Economically, if the nation’s natural resources had been effectively and efficiently managed, would there have been any Ghanaian child who would go to bed without a meal? Would there have been any Ghanaian child denied basic education? It common place that Ghana is such a blessed land endowed with all kinds of resources including gold, diamond, bauxite, cocoa, timber, arable land, rivers, rain falls and abundant sun shine all year round. But how did we as a nation manage these resources in past 50 years? Did we allow corruption, selfishness and greed to dominate our way of doing things? In terms of human resources, Ghana is blessed with some of the best brains in Africa if not in the world as whole. One can cite the immediate past UN Secretary-General Busumuru Kofi Annan to symbolise the human resource base of Ghana. These are just a few reasons why Ghana could have done better than she did than she did in terms of socio-economic, political and cultural prosperity in the first 50 years of her independence.

Fortunately for Ghana, in last decade of the past decade or so of the past 50 years precisely from 1993 to today when democracy was allowed to operate, the country has seen tremendous improvement in the governance of the country. This is why there is abundant hope for the nation as we look forward into the future. For the past eight years Kufuor administration more improvement has been added to the previous administration especially in the area of good governance and rule of law. Here on can mention the abolishing of the criminal libel laws from the statues of Ghana.

Solid foundation has been laid for the economic take off across board. By this, I mean the various sectors of the economy including agriculture, education, health, transportation, communications, investment, tourism, foreign policies, sports and what have you? Capitation grant and school feeding programme has created opportunity for school going children to be in school and be given at least one meal free of charge. This is something we must not take for granted.

The National Health Insurance Scheme has come into being, 48% of Ghanaians are benefiting from it and it is being improved on progressively. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is gradually but steadily making taking Ghana on the Information Super High Way through the Internet. Ghana Government has a comprehensive ICT Policy already in place. Right now the Government has started establishing what is referred to as Community Information Centres (CICs) in all the 230 electoral constituencies throughout the country. This is a viable strategy that concretely ensures that ICTs are taken closer to rural people who are in majority in Ghana. First class roads, railways and ports and harbours are being constructed, or rehabilitated and expanded and extended to various parts of the country.

Above all, what makes the hope for the future more concrete and realistic is the miraculous discovery of oil in commercial quantity in the golden jubilee year in this most blessed nation on earth. The story of oil discovery in no long a fairy tale in the development history of Ghana. It is real. But a doubting Thomas may ask: Where is the proof that Ghana has discovered oil in commercial quantity?

On Monday February 25, 2008, the Government of Ghana did something which was described as unprecedented in the history of oil industry in the world. What was that? A two-day National Gas and Oil Forum was at GIMPA in Accra. That forum brought together experts in the oil industry and stakeholders to brainstorm and what was referred to as “Organic and Comprehensive National Gas Policy and Master Plan” for the oil sector in the country. If there was no oil discovered would the Government have spent tax payer’s scarce resources to embark on such a venture?

Ghanaian President Kufuor who opened that national forum on that memorable day said among other things: “… I am therefore using this occasion to invite all levels of investors in the oil and allied industries to invest in Ghana’s economy which is poised for accelerated growth.” This is the hope all well-meaning Ghanaians must hold as a torch as the 51^st Independence Anniversary Celebration 2008 leads the nation into a brighter future.

Ghana 2008 and the Spirit of Nationalism

The pretty black angel taking the precious trophy to the podium for presentation

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

At long last, the golden jubilee 26th Africa Cup of Nations – Ghana 2008 tournament has come and gone. Even though Ghana could not grab the gold, she was able to snatch the bronze medal; and the nation is patriotically richer than ever before.

But one legacy bequeathed Ghanaians by the tournament which must never be allowed to desert us as a people is the Spirit of Nationalism. And the 23 young players out of 22 million coaches, who carried the entire nation on their fragile shoulders and sweated under supreme pressures from January 20 to February 10, 2008, were the twinkle, twinkle Black Stars of Ghana. The stylish Stars did the trick with their superb “soccerlistic” skills and crowned it with their “kangaroonistic” acrobatic legs and pinching fingers to stride. It was simply titillating and infectious like flu. It did not take long before other African nations, starting with the almighty Nigeria, began to make photocopies of their copyright dancing steps. No piracy here, please! Michael Essien of Ghana is the originator, initiator and inventor of “Kangaroonistic” dance in Africa and in the world of soccer. Any body who wants to duplicate that dance must obtain permission from him. Period!

What shall we tell the gallant 23? “Ghana Black Starts, Ayikooo! Bravo! You have chalked up what Napoleon could not have achieved.” And we should always keep this African proverb at the back of our minds: “Those who did not take part in the warfare always have the pleasure to fume and critisise the battalions that they did not fight hard enough.” Do not blame them, for they know not how monkey sweats.

As matter of fact, Ghana did very, very well. To be able to crush Guinea 2 – 1 ; pip Namibia 1 – 0; demolish Nigeria 2 – 1; massacre Cote d’Ivoire 4- 2, before finally going down 0 – 1 against Cameroon under some technical mishaps and “huhudious” officiating conspiracy, it was not a mean feat at all. In other words, with exception of Namibia, all the countries that Ghana crushed like empty shells on the way before snatching the Bronze medal are super power nations as far as football in Africa is concerned. Just go and look at the FIFA ranking of those countries on the continent before the commencement of Ghana 2008 tournament.

About 20 years ago, in 1987 to be precise, this author watched an American film at the Executive Theatre of the then Ghana Film Industry Corporation (GFIC) in Accra. (I don’t quite remember the title of that film). But in the film, a little boy of about five, living with his mother was naughty in some way. It was as if the boy intentionally poured some water on the dinning table and his mother was mad. The mother started scolding him. She nagged and nagged and made insinuation to the boy’s father who was not at home at the time. Suddenly, this tiny boy flared up, looked at his huge mother in the face and retorted: “Mum, why are you nagging at me like that? Don’t you know that I am an American?” The mother was so shocked and spell-bound that she could no longer utter a word thereafter.

How do some nations on this planet of imperfection manage to infuse or inculcate the spirit of patriotism into their citizens to the extend that, even when they go wrong in one way or another, most of their citizens are still prepared to defend them or even lay down their lives for their countries? At what age do they start pumping the sense of patriotism into the minds of their citizens? And what returns do such patriotic citizens expect back from their nations?

Fired up by this “holy” spirit of nationalism, some Ghanaians went to the extent of not only draping themselves in national colours, but adorn their dogs, cats, rams, goats and fowls, with Ghana flags - all jubilating in support of the national team – the Black Stars. Even some foreign nationals in Ghana or visitors who just came in to witness the event were so infested with the Ghanaian spirit of nationalism that they started competing to prove that they were even more Ghanaians than the Ghanaians themselves. (We say they are more catholic than the Pope himself). It was just fantastic!

In August 2007, the Ministry of Information and National Orientation formally launched the National Orientation Sensitisation Programme at the Accra International Centre. It is relevant to quickly refresh our memory of the Five Pillars of the National Orientation which were unveiled on that occasion: 1. Proud to be Ghanaian; 2. Patriotism and a Spirit of “Ghana First”; 3. Positive and a “Can – Do – it “Attitude; 4. Productivity and Accountability and 5. Dedication and Discipline.

One is yet to conduct a scientific survey to determine the impact of the programme on the population. Nevertheless, through casual observation so far, it will not be out of place to opine that since the launch of the National Orientation programme, coupled with gradual but deliberate and sustained efforts by the Ministry to conscientise people about the need to do things in a certain ways as a people, slowly but progressively the spirit of patriotism or nationalism is being rekindled in the minds of many Ghanaians. It can be concluded that at least, the Pillar N0 1, “Proud to be Ghanaian” has virtually taken roots in the hearts of many citizens of this loving country of hospitable people.

Do you remember that during the tournament, the Minister for Information and National Orientation, Hon Oboshie Sai Cofie, had to issue an official statement, reminding the entire nation that any time the national anthem was being played or sung, every body ought to remain standing and quiet until the anthem was over? That was a simple but profound national orientation instruction. So, even in our anxiety to display the depth of our patriotism, it is important to take note of such basic ethics of nationalism.

Although it is the Information Ministry which initiated the policy, it needs the collaboration of other institutions such as the National Commission on Civic Education, the Ghana Education Service, Commission on Culture, Commission on Children, the Churches, Mosques, the Shrines as well as individual parents and teachers to be able to effectively executive it for the success of the National Orientation programme in the supreme interest of the nation.

At this juncture, it is imperative to say a word of appreciation to all Ghanaians from the President of the Republic to the truck pusher at the Sodom and Gomorrah market for the massive support accorded the National Team. Ghanaian Parliamentarians made better noises than even the Supporters Unions who were paid to make noises. For those Pastors who cast away their orthodox cassocks for a moment and put on dresses in national colours to preach with their congregations blowing horns in the churches all dressed in national colours, God has taken note of the holy spirit of nationalism that descended on them.

Our Muslim brothers and sisters as well as the traditional worshipers could not be outdone in the massive support for the Black Stars. Did you see that man who always went to the stadium with live guinea fowls? How about those who carried R.I.P.coffins of certain countries and opponent players? They were all part of psychological supporting strategies. As for those who do not believe in the existence of God, God still loves them any way.

But if prizes were to be awarded to individuals or groups of best supporters of the Black Stars, Ghanaian women would have cleared all at stake hands down. Ghanaian women do not only know how to play football but they can analyse soccer and support the national team in grand styles. My goodness! I saw women of all shapes and sizes from toddlers to octogenarian supporting the Black Stars from January to December non stop. It was incredible. Apart from supporting the Black Stars as a National Team, Ghanaian women instantly established women supporters unions for every individual Black Star player.

Here is the list of Women Supporters Unions for all 23 players of the Ghana 2008 tournament:

1. Sammy Adjei Women Supporters Union

2. Hans Adu Sarpei Women Supporters Union

3. Asamoah Gyan Women Supporters Union

4. John Paintsil Women Supporters Union

5. John Mensah Women Supporters Union

6. Anthony Annan Women Supporters Union

7. Laryea Kingston Women Supporters Union

8. Mihael Essien Women Supporters Union

9. Manuel Agogo Women Supporters Union

10. Kwadwo Asamoah Women Supporters Union

11. Sulley Ali Muntari Women Supporters Union

12. Andre Ayew Women Supporters Union

13. Baffour Gyan Women Supporters Union

14. Bernard Yao Kumordzi Women Supporters Union

15. Ahmed Apiamah Barusso Women Supporters Union

16. Abdul Fatawu Dauda Women Supporters Union

17. Nana Akwesi Asare Women Supporters Union

18. Eric Addo Women Supporters Union

19. Alhansan Illiasu Women Supporters Union

20. Quincy Owusu-Abeyie Women Supporters Union

21. Harrison Afful Women Supporters Union

22. Richard Kingson Women Supporters Union

23. Hamidu Draman Women Supporters Union.

These women supporters unions can be found in every home in Ghana today. And it was their singing, dancing and artistic antics alone that provided the necessary energy for the Black Stars to die for the nation. Any challenger?

Closing ceremony
Ghana has succeeded in proving to the entire world through the Africa Cup of Nations that Africa is a continent of beautiful cultural heritage. The simple but profound closing ceremony was exceptional in the history of the tournament. Only one person could have taken the trophy to the podium to be handed over to the winning team. But this simple act was dramatized with four solid bodybuilders a.k.a macho men, carrying an innocent pretty little girl like a huge queen mother in a palanquin was fabulous.

The smiling sweet “black angel” was adorned in royal ornaments of gold and colourful kente headgear with traditional touch. The multiple fontonfron divine drummers stirred the foundation of African culture and the Egyptian champions could not help but to try their own hands on the drums and dancing like ancient Pharohs. When their floating spirits were appeased, they solemnly and respectfully collected back the magnificent sparkling trophy they brought from Egypt from the fatherly hands of the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E.J.A. Kufuor.

Fellow country men and women, even if Ghana could not fulfill the goal of “Host and Win” dream, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) has done the nation proud. The tournament has elevated Ghana to the zenith of World football pyramid. There is no country that is worth its name in the world today can say she has not heard of a country called Ghana in West Africa.

What must be done now as a nation is not to cry over spilt milk or engage in blame game. We must admit our little, little organisational short falls such as accreditations, ticketing and the potato-like fields of our magnificent stadia. The current Black Stars must be maintained and sustained so that they can remain in form at all times. There is a need to inject fresh blood of first class strikers into the team. As for technical and medical aspects of the team, I leave to the experts. If we do our home work very well, use creative visualisation techniques and petition God to be our Guide, come 2010, Ghana can win both the African Cup Nations in Angola and the World Cup in South Africa at ago. Remember that he who laughs last…

Cultural Heritage of Ghana CAN 2008

Traditional Horn Blowers

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath
Do you know that a nation without culture is like a man without soul? And a man without soul is as good as a still-born baby? And a still-born baby is that entity which could not take in the first breath of life at birth? That first breath of life is the soul which is part of the Almighty Creator Himself, without which, no human being can
survive?

Perhaps the Holy Bible will help to better illustrate the point I am trying to make here. Just open the Bible, (King James Version) and see Genesis Chapter 2: 7. It reads: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.”

On Sunday, 20^th January, 2008, the MTN 26^th Africa Cup of Nations, dubbed Ghana 2008 kicked off in the capital city of Accra. The tournament would be running in four cities, namely Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi and Tamale until 10^th February, 2008. The object of this piece is to try to review the Grand Opening Ceremony of the event, where Ghanaian culture was planted like a flourishing rose flower in the centre of the earth for humanity to behold, relish and cherish. It was fantastic and “extraordinaire” as the French will say. Analogically, that cultural pageantry which heralded the event was the breath of life infused into the veins of the games like the living soul to make Ghana CAN 2008 a living tournament.

First of all Ghana and for that matter Africa must be proud that there are citizens of the continent whose creativity is beyond imagination. For the person or group of persons who sat down, or stood up or were in motion and through attunement and meditation, received inspiration from the Supreme Creator and were able to transform their visualisation into the realisation of what was displayed at the newly refurbished Ohene Djan Stadium for over 4 billion people to witness globally, merit acclamation. In fact, one would have wished that at the end of the show, at least the directors and coordinators of the entire episode should have come to the centre of the stadium to receive thunderous and endless applauses and ovations. They did fantastically well! Bravo for all performers and their directors.

I do not know them per se. But I learned that some of the cultural gurus in whose fertile wombs the baby was nurtured and given birth to included, Prof. F.Nii Yartey, Prof. Anku, Prof. Martin Owusu, Prof. Kofi Ansah and many, many others. May Jesus bless them all. Be it known to them that their reward is guaranteed in heaven! But those of them who want their pay instantly may have to kick the bucket any way. I permit myself to bestow the title of Professor upon all those who participated in that historical opening ceremony. And if anybody dares subpoena me before any lawful court of the land, because of professorship saga, I shall soberly plead for clemency, leniency and mercy. Period! I don’t want any palaver!

For the benefit of non-Ghanaians, who enjoyed the beauty of the cultural pageantry but might not have grasped the actual import of the denouement of the drama, here is the gist of what transpired that day. In the first place, it is important to know that there are ten administrative regions in Ghana. And every region is endowed with unique magnificent cultural heritage in terms music, dances, songs, festivals, cuisines, drumming and artifacts. There is no cultural or religious discrimination in Ghana. Therefore, any time there is an event of national dimension, Traditional Priests, Christian Priests and Muslim Priests are all invited to say prayers to God for the success of the event. Whether they call God, or Mawu or Nyankupong or Allah, He or She is the same Supreme Creator of all.

So, too, whenever, a national event is taking place in the country and cultural performance is organised, dances and songs from all the ten regions of the country are staged. For example, when the National Orientation Sensitisation Programme was organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation where the Five Pillars were officially launched in August last year at the Accra International Conference Centre, little kids from all the ten regions of the country performed cultural dances of their respective regions. This is what has made Ghana a unique land of cultural diversity in unity.

Thus, the mammoth cultural pageantry performed at the Ghana CAN 2008 opening ceremony was the superb representation of Ghana’s culture from all the ten regions as well as a symbolic representation of all the 16 African countries participating in memorable tournament in the country.

First, the helicopter that flew Ghana National Flag across the stadium symbolises that we are all Ghanaians first before any other ethnic consideration. The colourful fireworks represents the modern form of our tradition gun salutes when a great national event is about to take off. The three majestic ladies draped in treasured kente, who sang the National Anthem depicts the trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit whose presence must be acknowledged before any national event.

The over an hundred traditional horn blowers who carried the sparkling elephant tusks colourfully ornamented, was the highest point of the creativity of the originators who conceptualised the ceremony. Up till now this author is wondering where they obtained all the numerous gigantic elephant tusks from. Unless they are some artificial plastic improvisation, I would imagine that there would no more be elephants in the Bole National Park at Bole in the Northern region or in other forest reserved in Ghana. The marvel is the creativity that went into the creation of that traditional musical instrument used by traditional horn blowers in Ghana. The symbol is what can be found in the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra.

The cultural significance of traditional horn blowing is that; in chiefs or kings palaces in Ghana, it heralds the beginning of an event of great importance. Horns are used to announce the take off of an event. Like the talking drums, horns serve as traditional communication tool to send messages across people in towns and villages. So, the hundred horn blowers at the opening ceremony were symbolically announcing to the Africa and the rest of the world that the 26^th edition of the prestigious African Cup of Nations was about to kick off in Ghana, so the entire globe must be alert and ready to embrace the event. And the horn blowers emerged from the four cornerners of the stadium symbolising the four cardinal points of the earth, namely, East, West, South and North. And by providence, Ghana itself is positioned in centre of the earth. Again, symbolically, Ghana through the opening ceremony was radiating Light, Life and Love to all corners of the globe.

Another mind blowing aspect of the opening ceremony was the acrobatic display by the youth of Ghana. Besides various magical formations was the African Map with and Madagascar created by human beings with human bodies. The design was incredible when viewed on the television screen. As for various national dances performed, the least said the better. We witnessed dances ranging from Adowa, Atsiagbekor, Dambai , Kente, Borborbor, Kpanlogo just to mention but a few. They were performed with artistic finesse with fantastic colourful costumes to mach. It was simply great!

The final cultural aspect the opening ceremony which cannot escape mention in this review was the parade of national flags of various countries taking part in the tournament. Many people did not notice this aspect of the ceremony. I remember when I pointed out the flags to spectators around where I was sitting near the Scoreboard at the stadium, they marveled. Again the creativity that went into the creation of those flags was beyond compare.

The national flags of the participating teams, including Ghana, Angola, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Egypt, Guinea, Mali, Morocco Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Senegal, Sudan and Zambia were transformed into colourful umbrellas, held with reverence in for the parade as it is done in the solemn procession for a grand durbar of Kings and Queen mothers in Ghana. The scene was soul moving indeed!.

If for nothing at all, Ghana has used her rich culture through the opening ceremony of the 26^th Ghana CAN 2008 to project the beauty of African culture to the blue haven. I suggest that the Local Organising Committee (LOC) should adopt and adapt the opening ceremony on DVD and CD in any modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as African Cultural Heritage for the cultural advancement of mankind to the glory of the CREATOR.

Ghana: Winner Nation of African Cup of Nations 2008

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

There is this inspirational Tanzanian proverb which says: “He, who trusts in God or Allah, or Mawu or Nyankupong, does not lack anything.” Therefore, all patriotic and faithful Ghanaians who trust in God should please rise, face the geographical East, raise their hands towards heaven and sing praise to the Lord; for Ghana, our beloved country is already a winner for merely hosting the 26^th Africa Cup of Nations tournaments (Ghana 2008) slated to kick off on Sunday, 20^th January 2008.

Beloved humble and noble fellow Ghanaians, in March 2007, when Ghana was celebrating her Golden Jubilee anniversary, President John Agyekum Kufuor, made a very simple but profound statement which must not be taken for granted. He said, “It is a great time to be Ghanaian!” This writer wishes to implore all Ghanaians to pause for just a moment to concentrate, contemplate and meditate on this simple statement by the President as we embark on the next 50 years journey of our nationhood.

On Thursday, 10^th January, 2008, the DAILY GRAPHIC wrote yet another nationalistic editorial under the heading, “NEW ERA DAWNS WITH GHANA 288.” That editorial comment was based on an article, titled “Ghana will gain a lot as host,” published on page 16 of that day’s issue. The article itself was based on an interview granted the author, Lucy Adoma Yeboah, by the Hon Minister for Information and National Orientation, Mrs. Oboshie Sai Cofie in Accra. The purpose of this review is to encourage the media in Ghana, both print and electronic to emulate the example of the “Daily Graphic” by discussing issues of national interest with some touch of patriotism, especially at this time of the forth coming tournament, no matter what. After all, we have no other nation to call our own. But constructive criticisms are always welcome!

The opening paragraph of the said editorial read: “If there was nothing to be gained from hosting sub-regional, regional and global tournaments, countries would not go to the extent of setting up committees to lobby sporting authorities for the right to host those tournaments.”

The next paragraph went on: “Indeed, countries go all out to build new stadia, rehabilitate existing ones, put new infrastructure and build roads, all at great cost, in order to win the right to host tournaments.”

The paragraph three stated: “Ghana’s hosting of the 26^th Africa Cup of Nations tournament (Ghana 2008) cannot be delinked from the benefits that accrue to hosting countries of sporting events.”

The paper continued, “It is in this regard that we agree with the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mrs. Oboshie Sai Cofie, that Ghana was already ‘the winner of the tournament’ for the mere fact of being the host.”

The fifth paragraph of the editorial quoted the Minister, thus: “Ghanaians should recognise the fact that we have already won in prestige, revenue generation, in showcasing our beautiful country and its people; we have won because of the fact that our children will grow to acknowledge that their country is considered important in the global environment,” Mrs. Sai Cofie said in an interview.

Commenting on what the Information Minister had said in the interview, (see page 16 of Graphic of January 10, 2008), the paper wrote: “These are fine sentiments which the DAILY GRAPHIC would want every Ghanaian, male and female, young and old, to share, since they capture the very essence of hosting an international tournament of this nature.

“If for nothing at all,” it continued, “The tournament will bring with it commercial and economic gains which will permeate all sectors of the economy, not to talk about the exposure the country will get from TV screening of the matches worldwide, especially the opening and closing ceremonies, the rebranding of the country’s image abroad and potential to the outside world.”

The paper then gave the following advice: “We at the DAILY GRAPHIC can only advise our compatriots to put our best foot forward during the period of the tournament, so that our visitors will have a confirmation of the legendary Ghanaian hospitality, culture and tradition.”

Another vital point which Hon Oboshie Sai Cofie made in the interview with Lucy Adoma Yeboah, which, this writer deems imperative to mention here, was that, there was no need for any Ghanaian to feel down-hearted because of one reason or another, “but rather go all out and feel good because the tournament was taking place in Ghana and nowhere else.” The Minister advised that people should stop complaining that there was no excitement in the air, adding that it was left for individuals and groups to come together to create the needed excitement.

The Minister further pointed out that the government had played its part by providing the entire necessary infrastructure for a successful tournament, stressing that, “It is left to us as a people to make the best out of the event.” As a matter of fact it was stated that an amount of $157.2 million had so far been spent on the rehabilitation and construction of four stadia to host the tournament in the country. It was explained that the amount was said to have been exceeded the $152.1million initially projected by $5.1million.

It was very refreshing when the Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Hon Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, recently stated emphatically in Parliament that it was Ghana Government and for that matter the people of Ghana whose money was used to build the modern stadia for the tournament. If you are a Ghanaian and you are not proud of this achievement, then what will you be proud of? Every body knows that the rehabilitated stadia are the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra and the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, while the newly constructed ones re in Tamale and Sekondi. As was promised by the President when the Ohene Djan Stadium was commissioned recently, all the ten regions of Ghana will have a magnificent modern stadium each in due course.

Furthermore, the Information Minister made a very creative suggestion in her interview with the GRAPHIC that, “If for nothing at all, individual and groups should hang national flags on their property and make the right noises in readiness for the tournament.” She opined that the issue was not about winning but the need to look at other opportunities that would come along with the tournament.

As a matter of fact, if this tournament were to be taking place in any European country or in Nigeria here in Africa, inspiring and motivating noises such as “Oooyee oooyee oye oye oye….” would have been on everybody’s lips from January to December non-stop. In Ghana, we should be shouting “GHANA, GHANA, and GHANA OSEE-YIEEEEE!!!!”and “BLACK STARS, BLACK STARS, BLACK STARS, OSEE-YIEEEEE!!” from now until the hour the covetous trophy is handed over to the winner of the 16 participating African countries.

This author would want to add his voice to those of the Hon Information Minister and the DAILY GRAPHIC, which Ghanaians must be proud of being Ghanaians and be grateful and thankful to God that they are Ghanaians There are many nations in Africa and beyond whose citizens wish they were Ghanaians.

With Ghana’s oil discovery in commercial quantity within this same period in the history of our beloved country, the sky cannot even be the limit for the prosperity of Ghanaians in the next 50 years. Ghana indeed, is poised to become a glorious land on the continent of Africa. As for Ghana 2008 tournament, we all pray that the gallant Black Stars will lift the trophy at stake. But whether they win or not GHANA IS A WINNER by merely hosting the tournament.

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ICT Sector Leadership in Africa: A Guru’s Point Of View

MR. CRAIG YEATMAN

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

A Ghanaian proverb reminds us: “Wisdom is like the trunk of a baobab tree – no one person’s arms can embrace it and overlap it.”

It is the considered opinion of this author that the depth of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is such that no IT expert can pretend to possess all knowledge in every department of the technology in such a fashion that when he or she speaks, all must be silent. No! Rather, the best an IT expert can do to advance the course of the industry is to share his or her views, knowledge and experiences with other gurus and neophytes alike in the sector.

Mr. Craig Yeatman is a leadership consultant and Chief Executive of WorldsView, a consulting and product development house based in South Africa. Through the magic of ICT, he granted an online interview to this Blogger right in Accra. Ghana. This article contains excerpts of the interview which, I feel are thought provoking enough to be shared with other African bloggers, leaders of the ICT sector on the continent, the youth and cherished readers of blogs and other related media – both locally and globally.

First, Mr. Yeatman was challenged to tell readers how long he had been handling leadership issues in Africa, with particular focus on the ICT sector on the continent. Hear him: “WorldsView Consulting has been working in the arena of management and leadership development in Africa since 1994.” He speaks on, “Post 2004, our emphasis focused even more tightly on partnering with organisations on transformational change, and developing deep and sustainable leadership competencies in organisations. We have no particular emphasis on any sector of the market – as the leadership issues are, by and large, generic ones,” he explained.

Throwing more light on what his firm does specifically, he expatiates: “Our model is to engage directly in consulting interventions using a small team of specialists. We then have a programmes development team that captures the intellectual Property from those interventions, blends it with the experiences of a wide variety of sources using African traditions as the ‘cooking pot’, and global experiences as the ingredients. He went on, “The outcome is the production of programmes that other people can be taught to deliver – thus democratising what is always old wisdom, but what suffers from being “owned” by specialists locked within educational and consulting institutions.”

Mr. Yeatman disclosed that their first programme was launched in 2006 after almost three years of development, was what was known as “the Nine Conversations in Leadership – a long-term leadership development programme that works with groups to drive leadership competencies at organizational, team and individual levels.” According to him, during 2007, some two hundred experienced the programme, and 82 people had so far been trained to deliver the programme. “As a result, the bookings for 2008 now exceed 1,500 people. We are due to release two further programmes within the next twelve months, as well as an update to the Nine Conversations in Leadership,” the WorldsView Chief Executive disclosed.

Second, to ascertain how far Mr. Yeatman’s brand of knowledge has reached on the continent, he was queried to cite at least five out of the 53 countries in Africa where he might have delivered lectures or talks in leadership in IT, or telecommunications in general. He went straight to the point thus:

“Our consulting interventions in the areas of leadership development and organisational change have taken place in various parts of South Africa, as well as in Senegal, Cameroon and Kenya.” He elaborates, “We have trained people to deliver the Nine Conversations in Leadership from Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Malawi (as well as from America, the United Kingdom and the Middle East).

Furthermore, he pointed out that through one of their companies (WorldsView Technologies) they had been engaged in developing a network of businesses across Africa. He then referred this interviewer to see a website www.worldsview.co.za for a complete list of the countries in which they had partners in the WorldsView Technologies stable.

What this author finds very progressive is the revelation that the WorldsView Consulting is seeking agency partners not only in Africa but across the world. This open invitation even goes with somewhat offers to the effect that, “These partners will take our programmes and add them to whatever portfolio of interventions they already carry.” It added, “To date, we have had some interest from Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia, but have not yet reached partnership agreements. Our team regularly speak at South African conferences and deliver University classes at MBA level,” it concluded.

Bearing in mind the reality that the majority of Africans, especially in the Sub-Sahara region, are yet to enjoy the fruits of ICT, Mr. Yeatman was asked to pinpoint which areas (rural or urban) on the continent which have been the focus of his leadership messages. He responded frankly that their focus was on organisational leadership, in the sense that they partner with formal organisations, adding that, “To date, this has included non-profit, for profit and governmental clients,” he noted.

The Consultant believes that, “organisations are a powerful force social change, and as Africa re-writes its story it will be organisations that provide the platform for the script to be written.” He states. “Organisations form the belly, or engine room of an emerging nation. Within that setting, the kinds of leadership that emerge at a micro level will aggregate to transform Africa ‘from the belly to the head,” he philosophised.

The next question put to Mr. Yeatman was whether he had any leadership message for the youth of Africa as far as IT was concerned. His response was that IT is an enabler, in the same way that a car helps people travel – IT helps people get a variety of things done. He explains that IT is not an end in itself – it is a means through which lives should be improved; adding, “Technology alone does not do that.”

The expert postulates that IT can just as easily help a community plan its own destruction through conflict and war as it can help a community to heal, grow and emerge as a part of a new African story. “The moral and spiritual choices people make are more important than the technology – and the technology should be used to expose our youth to the whole world of knowledge, choices and values that await them, he advised.

Another interesting challenge thrown to the leadership guru was to share some of his practical experiences with his peers in the industry and to indicate how IT could be deployed to solve the endemic poverty ravaging the African continent. Hear him:

“The obvious areas of deployment are the ICT sectors ability to address health and education issues. These are well documented and don’t need a “leadership person” to build on. It is possible that the less obvious and more natural deployments are the ones that might warrant more attention.” Mr. Yeatman went on, “People look for artifacts to solve problems - that has been the nature of the evolution of technology since time began.” He elaborates, “The reason for the rapid expansion of the ICT sector is that a technology has arrived that helps people to overcome challenges they experience in their daily lives – and the best, most meaningful of these are driven by the communities themselves,” he stressed.

Mr. Yeatman argues that one does need to prescribe, or pre-plan how poor communities must alleviate their poverty. In his view, such communities are already trying everything they can to alleviate their own poverty. Therefore, it is important to endeavour to provide them with the technology at the lowest possible price. He says the communities must be taught how to use the technology and ensure that connections that will allow health workers to connect to each other and to their patients in new ways are put in place for them. Furthermore, educators in deprived communities must also be connected to each other and to their students to facilitate networking through information sharing and knowledge management. He advocates that natural forces that are already at work must be allowed to take advantage of the platform the technology provides.

He points out that planning and regulation should not prescribe connections – it should make connections possible. Thereafter, people should lift their own horizons and make their own journey towards improving their lives and the lives of those around them. This, he says, can be facilitated and monitored, but cannot be prescribed. His view is that every attempt to regulate content (what may be transmitted and why) destroys more than creates, he reasoned.

Finally, the Chief Executive of WorldsView Consulting was asked to share his views on the future of ICT in Africa. Strategically, he thinks that, “ICT is still responding to the rampant demand for their services that is unfolding across Africa. At some point in each local market, that pace of challenge will settle into more mature competitive pressure if natural market forces are allowed to play out, he observed. He says to the extent that the market has been well regulated, the pace of this change will be rapid – as consumers are able to access and apply the technology as fast as it can be deployed. There is no time-lag for adoption of ICT in Africa – there is only a time-lag of deployment, the expert disclosed.

He speculates that the harder question of whether the industry will be able to move through these cycles efficiently will be answered at the local levels by the policy and regulatory responses of governments across Africa. He advises and warns at the same time that, “Attempts to increase competition in a sensible way will be rewarded. Attempts to regulate content and impose license bottlenecks will be punished by delays in deployment.” Such delays, according to the consultant, impact on the poorest people on the continent - as it is only when the market is allowed to move to maximum penetration that prices achieve lowest and most accessible points, he emphasised.

Touching on leadership quality, Mr. Yeatman says - both from the ICT sector and each of the local markets will determine the outcome. He explains that the levels to which people share a vision of “a connected” Africa over-and-above any visions of profit will drive the outcomes over the next few years. He confirms the global view that there is no doubt that the ICT sector is a money-pipeline. “With money comes power contests, and the ability of African leaders to serve their communities will be tested in this helter-skelter scramble for markets and connectivity, he concluded.

For more information on this leadership subject, please log onto www.worldsviewconsulting.com

Putting ICT To Positive Use In Africa

ICT APPLICATIONS

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath
An African proverb says, “Where there is the liver, there, too, one finds the bile.” It simply implies that good and evil move hand in hand.

During the first week of February this year, the entire Information Communication Technology (ICT) world converged in Accra, the capital city of Ghana for the Africa Regional Preparatory Conference for the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS).

That event was of such a high profile that it was opened by no less a personality than the President of the Republic of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor and attended by various dignitaries including President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, the Tunisian Prime Minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, the Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Yoshio Utsumi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO), Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, and the Executive Secretary the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Dr. Yao Kofi Amoako, just to mention a few.

As for the general attendance, over 1000 delegates ranging from media practitioners to educationists right down to legal technicians, NGOs, civil society and the youth did not give way at all. But predominantly were ICT gurus with their heavy jackets and flamboyant neck ties to match. And when these ICT engineers mounted the podium, everybody wanted to outclass one another in terms of technological jargon renditions. Some of us ordinary mortals among them could not help but to gap our mouths in wonderment.

The WSIS Accra programme was just what someone described as “John the Baptist”, for “Jesus the Christ” himself will be in Tunisia in November this year. It is hoped that after Tunisia, African ICT gurus will minimize their talking strategies and maximize their efforts towards the implementation of decisions that will help reduce if not eradicate poverty on the African continent through technologies.

Anyway, one session of the Accra WSIS which this author found very crucial from a layman’s point of view was the Workshop on Internet Governance. My imagination was tickled when my eyes inadvertently fell on the topic, Internet Governance. It was not surprising at all that this was one topic that generated heated debate among the gurus at the conference.

One particular bone of contention was who should have the authority over the management of the domain name across Africa. Consequently, a 22-man working group of experts was set up to convene in August (possibly in Nigeria) to resolve the dispute among feuding ICT sector groups. This strategy was indicative of the importance of Internet domain name, which Africa cannot afford to toil with if the continent is to move with times and occupy its right place in the scheme of global information infrastructure so as to be part of the electronic revolution.

It may be of interest to the reader to know that some of the issues raised under this topic included, Internet Resource Management and Technical Coordination; Public Polity Issues and Barriers to Internet Access; Ensuring Effective Public and Stakeholders Participation and above all INTERNET GOVERNANCE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF E-COMMERCE. I have placed emphasis on this topic because , even as a layman ,it has come to my attention that some African ICT experts who think they are smart are abusing or misusing the tool of ICT for negative purpose for their own selfish interest and to the detriment of the whole continent of Africa .

I was shocked when on Monday 21^st February 2005 an ICT expert who is a lecturer at one of the topmost technology universities in America sent me an e-mail message and asked me whether I knew that Ghana had been banned from internet shopping because of the extremely high credit card fraud originating from Ghana?

According to this expert, for more than four years he had predicted that this ban would one day come but some people in the industry thought he was “crazy”. In fact, this ICT tutor warned that if care was not taken Ghana stood a risk of being taken off from the entire web if nothing was done to ensure secure internet connectivity and to trace an individual on the web.

I was alarmed by this revelation. And I wondered whether Ghanaian ICT gurus knew of this problem. If yes, what advice did they give to the Ghana Government? African ICT gurus must be more creative and proactive. It is their duty to advise African governments as to what to do and how. African governments, too, must stop pussy-footing on matters of science and technology on the continent.

At the Accra WSIS conference, Africans did not hesitate to lament about the continent’s lost centuries of Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Age. They did, however, console themselves of the fact that a whole century of knowledge Economy brought about by the Information Communication Technology lies ahead of them and vow never to stand and stare.

But what will be the future of ICT in Africa if some of the so-called experts are already using the technology for fraudulent deals instead of developing user friendly programmes for the benefit of the rural poor? It is also a common knowledge that, for a very long time, African youth who patronise the services of Cybercafés devote their time browsing the Internet for negative sites such as pornographic scenes instead of e-libraries for online learning.

As the above-quoted proverb indicates, every good thing has its opposite side and ICT is no exception. Nevertheless, African ICT gurus must endeavour to put the technologies to constructive application for the advancement of the Continent.

NB: This article was written in 2005

The Ghanaian Media and the Future of Ghana

GHANAIAN NEWSPAPER
By Mawutodzi K. Abissath
Have you realized the wisdom of African ancestors is beyond compare? This is reflected in their evergreen proverbs which modern scholars are wont to quote and unquote. Listen to this Ghanaian one: “If you cut your own tongue and chew it up, you‘ve not eaten any meat”. This is lucid, isn’t it?

One may be tempted to ask: “Which school did our ancestors attend to acquire such insightful knowledge and wisdom?” And are educated modern Africans creating new proverbs for posterity to quote? I leave the answers to the meditation of the reader. But I will postulate that, if the Ghanaian media set a negative agenda for Ghanaians to use for self-destruction, there will be no Ghana to build as a nation. I will explain presently.

Records show that media work, or journalism in Ghana started in 1822 in Cape Coast. That was when General Sir Charles McCarthy, the first colonial Governor of the then Gold Coast landed in Cape Coast on 27th March that year and within a few days launched an official paper, called the Royal Gold Coast Gazette.(Those who have value for historical facts can read the rest of this story in a book title : A Summary History of the GHANA PRESS, written by Mr. K.A.B. Jonses-Quartey, one time of the Institute of Adult Education, University of Ghana, Legon, Published by the Information Service Department in 1974.)

Based on the preceding fact, therefore, the Ghanaian media, born in 1822 up to today 2005, over 200 years of existence, cannot be described as a neophyte or amateur. And the contribution of the media in Ghana to freedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom of association and the entire freedoms one can think of including, the fight for self-rule, culminating into independence in 1957, cannot be quantified in real terms.

As a matter of fact, some of the experiences the Ghanaian media went through after independence were even more traumatic than during the colonial era. At some stage of military and civilian rules, for instance, the Ghanaian media operated under some of the most abhorrent laws under the sun. One of such Laws was the ‘late’ Criminal Libel law, which kicked the bucket in 2001, and the obituary of which we are celebrating today with fanfare.

In fact at some points in the media history of this country, media practitioners were treated like common criminals. Every small human error they committed, or were suspected to have committed, even without proof in competent court of law, they were bundled and dumped into jail like accursed armed robbers.

This writer has had his own share of that intolerance and absolute display of misplaced power of authority in May 1999.That was even during a civilian rule, so he knows what he is talking about. It was sad in deed! Such a situation did not allow cross fertilization of ideas. It did not consensus for nation building. That is not how other nations are moving from the ground into the orbit and back with smiles.

Having said all that, it is prudent to sound a note of caution to the Ghanaian media, too. Remember this African proverb which admonishes that, “If you cry for your chicken, you must cry for the hawk, too.” To be frank and blunt, the way some Ghanaian media practitioners are operating today is nothing to write home about at all as far as professionalism goes.

Observers are worried that even though the Ghanaian media are doing tremendous work for the growth of democracy and good governance in the country, some of their actions tend to be causing more harm than good to the image of Ghana, especially on the Internet. It appears some media practitioners take delight in fishing out only negative things to project to the world whilst turning a blind eye to some of the good things the nation is accruing, no matter how modest they may be. One of the consequences of such negativity is the recent heavy fines being imposed on some media houses by the courts in the country. This is very unfortunate. If care is not taken the media may drive the ship of state straight into ditch. The fact is whilst some practitioners are making conscious efforts others have thrown the ethics of the profession to swines.

In April 1994, the media in Rwanda were reported to have been the initiators of that nation’s genocide. Out come, over half a million souls perished in a twinkle of an eye. We in Ghana should not pretend to be angels. We are human beings, and as such, we are treading in the forest of errors. When our fellow human beings commit errors, we must have the courage to correct them and tolerate them. But it is important for the offenders, also to be humble enough to admit their shortcomings and apologize for them. When that is done we must move ahead with our development strategies as a nation. After all perfection is not attained in one incarnation. We must be prepared to agree to disagree as a people.

It has been observed that for few years now, the nation has been moving from the culture of silence to the culture of negativity. And it is unfortunate that it is the media that seem to be setting this agenda and the entire society is being led into a bottomless pit of negative thinking, negative talking and negative actions. The situation has not been helped by the mushrooming of Frequency Modulation (FM) radio stations here and there.

It is indisputable that radio stations in Ghana are making a great deal of impact on the development of the nation in terms of dissemination of information to citizens to know what is happening and how they can contribute their views and ideas to issues of national interest. The impact is even more enormous when the platform is created for listeners to express themselves in their own language. It has been a wonderful experience with the phone-in-programmes.

But, this is exactly where the worse problem of negative is originating from. When a radio presenter or a host of a programme introduces a topic, and some people who do not understand or know the first letter of that topic, pick up their telephones, even now with the advent of mobile phones, wherever they might be, can call into a programme and start contribution out of context. If the host of that particular programme himself or herself is not on top of the issue at stake and callers are allowed not only to display their ignorance, but encouraged to slander, castigate and even assassinate the character of innocent souls.

This happens often if the topics in questions have some semblance to political discussions. In fact, some callers may deliberately all in only to vent their spleen on their perceived opponents for the sake it. They normally have their way and their say by chanting all kinds of unprintable words and go scot free without any apologies fro the shame they deserve.

This is not good enough, especially if the perceived political opponent is not in the studio or on the other side of the line to respond. This is where professionalism in broadcast journalism is called for. If the media practitioner on duty does not know how to cut off or call that particular caller to order, the seed of animosity is sowed not only between that caller and the personality concerned. But the party members of that imaginary opponent, his relatives and all sympathizers who will be listening in to that particular programme at the material time. This is how the entire society is being poisoned like a well of water. The psychological result is that everybody’s mind is being poisoned against one another. And eventually, the collective mind of the nation is programmed as the head of a poisonous snake. Then the people begin to develop the tendencies of “YOU BITE ME, I BITE YOU”. Ghana is greater than any individual or personality, be he a media man or woman, politician, or an ordinary citizen in the street.

In May 1994, on the occasion of that year’s freedom day, Mr. Kofi Annan UN Secretary-General called on the media man and woman throughout the world to practice what he termed as “Preventive Journalism.” He was making reference to what happened in Rwanda the previous month then and pointed out that the genocide in that country could have been prevented if Rwandan journalists had engaged in preventive journalism rather than hatred one
This writer will like to add his voice to that of the UN Boss and appeal to the Ghanaian media to practice a kind of journalism that will guarantee the future socio–economic, political and cultural survival of Ghana. Let's say “NO” to hatred journalism in Ghana.

N/B: This article was first published in 2005.