The people of Ghana are thrilled that the President is making his first visit to Sub-Sahara Africa to their nation. It is a visit well deserved. Obama said the main reason for choosing Ghana was because of their democracy. The people of Ghana are very proud that they do not suffer the ethnic strife of other African nations. The folk knowledge in Ghana is that they are a peaceful nation. Ethnic strife in Ghana is at a minimum. The word on the street is that Ghanaian ethnic groups can tease one another, whereas in Nigeria and Kenya such joisting might lead to war. The potential for development in Ghana is ripe. It is a wonderful nation. The spirit of its people is incredible. They deserve being able to succeed, improve their conditions.
The major stumbling block to Ghana's development is reputed to be corruption. No doubt Obama will address this when he speaks to their Partliment. Not to minimize this major problem, Ghana is in desparate need of development. Since their are telemarketeers in India and the Phillipines, why not Ghana? Their English is impeccable.
Being the first Sub-Sahara nation to have gotted its independence in 1957, Nkrumah set the stage. Intellectuals lament that Nkrumah was before his time. On the other hand, we can thank the U.S. that the CIA undermined his governance. Instead of dominance, today the African American President of the United States is extending a hand in prtnership.
The photo is the statue of Kwame Nkrumah at his memorial grands and museum in Accra. RGN
Obama lands with wife and kids
HISTORY WILL be made today when the first ever black President of America, Barack Hussein Obama, touches down from Air Force One at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana’s capital city, at exactly 8:30pm.
President Obama, who turns 48 this August, arrives with his wife Michelle, and two kids, Sasha 8, and Malia 10. He would be the third incumbent American President to have visited Ghana in a row but Obama’s very first visit to black Africa. His choice of Ghana has earned some noticeable envy for the developing country.
President John Mills and a host of the crème de la crème of Ghana’s government officials would be at the airport to welcome the First Family of America, after which the two Presidents would hold brief consultations.
The visit has been heralded by a wild euphoria across the country, most especially by residents in Accra and Central Region, the two places Obama would be visiting.
Giant bill boards showing the portraits of Mills and Obama and having the inscription ‘Akwaaba’ have sprung up across the city and various paraphernalia including cloths, T-Shirts, miniature flags and many more designed to welcome the US President are selling like hot dogs in the two cities.
Security arrangements are at their peak and a couple of ceremonial roads near the airport would be closed to motorists and pedestrians during the period.
Already, a number of US fighter jets have been spotted parading the skies and the Ghana Police Service have deployed several thousands of officers and men to take strategic positions across the country. The security agents of both countries are collaborating to provide maximum safety for the visiting President.
The US President would lodge at the Holiday Inn Hotel near the airport and would have a breakfast meeting with President Mills on Saturday morning before moving with his wife to visit the maternity wards at the La Polytechnic in Accra.
Hundreds of journalists from both within and outside Ghana would on Saturday pitch camp at the Accra International Conference Center where President Obama is expected to make a major statement on Africa when he addresses specially invited guests at midday.
The program was originally scheduled to be an outdoor event at the open-air Independence Square where Ghanaians from all walks of life would have trooped to, to listen to and catch a glimpse of the American President largely considered as the pride of Africa.
The unpredictable nature of the rains was what prompted State Protocol to shift the program to the enclosed and much smaller International Conference Center, which to the disappointment of many, takes a little below 2, 000 audience.
The event would however be telecast live on both national and private Television stations.
Obama and his family would, after the address, move to Cape Coast, capital of the Central Region, to attend a durbar of chiefs at the Palace of the Oguaa Omanhen, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, who would himself sit in state with his sub-chiefs.
Michelle Obama would be honored with the title of a traditional queen at the durbar before joining her husband to visit the slave dungeons at the historic Cape Coast Castle.
Source: Daily Guide / By Halifax Ansah-Addo
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