By Francis Quamina Farrier
ON Wednesday, March 6, 2019, the Republic of Ghana will be celebrating its 62nd Independence anniversary; not really a special number, but nonetheless, for that West African country, it is a special year – the Year of Return – as they extend a joyous “AKWAABA”(WELCOME) to one and all. During my most recent visit to Ghana,
(September/October 2018), President Nana Kafu-Addo announced 2019 as ” the Year of Return “, opening the tourism door wide to all who are desirous of visiting Ghana, as it emerges from a very troubled past to a glorious future.
Since that “Year of Return” announcement by the Ghanaian President, there have been a number of African American Celebrities – Super Model Naomi Campbell included – who have already visited Ghana where they received a warm Presidential AKWAABA .
On Tuesday, March 5, 2019, Guyanese international Superstar, Eddy Grant, of Plaisance East Coast Demerara, will be celebrating his 71st birthday, and maybe he’ll be singing one of his very popular compositions, “Hello Africa”, to Ghana, a country where he is well-known and well-loved. And who knows, Eddy Grant may even be one of the international celebrities who will also visit Ghana this year.
In this the “Year of Return”, tourists to Ghana will experience the warmth of the Ghanaian people who are very welcoming to visitors, who go to their 95,000 square mile country which has a growing population of approximately 27 million; a country which has experienced periods of serious political unrest and turmoil, coups and counter-coups in the past. But through it all, Ghana has now reached a point in its history when it has some clearly defined national objectives; among them, to make the country among the most peaceful in Africa; to ensure that education is available for all young people, and to root out corruption wherever it is identified.
More recently, Ghana has even taken a campaign against noise nuisance, including to those churches which conduct their services with Public Address (P.A) systems which take the preaching and singing literally to high heaven, causing inconvenience to others who worship their creator in more quiet tones. At this time, it is appropriate for me to mention that the two principal religions, the Christians and Muslims, coexist peacefully in Ghana. While in the city of Tamale, I observed a group of Muslims attending the funeral of a retired medical worker in a Catholic church. When I asked how that was so, I was informed that the deceased, during her working life, had given medical attention to fellow Christians as well as Muslims, and so, that was the reason why there were Muslims attending her funeral at a Catholic church.
There are a number of countries whose citizens do not need a visa to enter Ghana; one is sister CARICOM nation Trinidad and Tobago. That is so ironic since Guyana-born Konyo Addo who is the daughter of a Ghanaian father, (and all Guyanese), needed a visa to visit the homeland of her father. Konyo Addo, who is not sure whether she is a cousin of the Ghanaian President, has visited Ghana twice so far, and plans to visit during this “Year of Return”. On my own visits to Ghana, I applied successfully for One-Visit Visas which cost US$60. A Multiple-visit one-year visa cost US$100. Guyana and Ghana recently held talks about air links between the two Commonwealth member nations. It will be recalled that over a decade ago, the now defunct Universal Airlines made a return flight from Guyana to Ghana. It was a special flight which included an in-flight fashion show with attractive Ghanaian models displaying some very attractive Ghanaian designs.
During the past decade, even with a change of governments as a result of peaceful general elections, Ghana has had lots of developments including, hundreds of miles of previous dirt roads, asphalted. These highways go deep into the hinterland of the country, and make it much easier for Ghanaians and tourists alike, to travel from the capital ACCRA and other coastal cities, and see the hinterland and cities and towns and villages, much quicker and in comfort. Some of these highways link Ghana with its neighbours Burkina Faso, Togo and the Ivory Coast. I am one of the thousands of visitors, as well as the Ghanaians themselves, who have benefitted from that upgrading of dirt roads, into well-paved highways across valleys and over hills and mountains – also across bridges which span rivers, linking cities and towns and villages within the 95,000 square mile West African Republic.
Wherever one goes in Ghana, one sees giant billboards on which are images of family groups promoting various goods and services; seemingly subtle messages about the benefits of good family life. “Ghana has a very high appreciation for family life,” said Guyanese Lawrence Lachmansingh, who spent three years with his own family, while on a tour of duty with the UNDP there. “Ghana will always be a special place for my family. We particularly loved the people and culture,” Lachmansingh told me.
“With the UN, I learned so much from Ghana about the art of living peacefully together.” While in Ghana, Lachmansingh was with his family one day relaxing on a river bank. A few Ghanaian young men were playing around in the water when one got into trouble. The others were unable to go and rescue him since none of them were swimmers. Lachmansingh went after the drowning young man and pulled him to safety.
“Ghana welcomes all Africans in the Diaspora to trace their ancestral footprints to the Motherland,” says my Ghanaian friend and Tour Guide, Adam Yussif. “I invite all Guyanese to visit. I also wish that the Independence Day of Ghana be celebrated as well in Guyana to show some love for Ghana,” he concluded. However, what is hardly known in Ghana, is that Ghana Day is celebrated at the time of Ghana’s Independence Anniversary.
Buxton-born CEO and President of Federal Management Systems, Inc., Aubrey Stephenson,
AA, has had a long-standing association with a religious group in Ghana, to which he has been rendering financial assistance for many years. And while there are many Ghanaians who do not know of the existence of Guyana, there is a growing number who are now becoming aware of the only English-speaking country in South America, where some of their ancestors were taken through “the door of no return”, into an existence of slavery. In this year, 2019, many of their descendants will arrive in the Republic of Ghana, through “The door of return”, so to speak, in this the “Year of Return”.
