50th Anniversary Is Significant For Africans Everywhere -Jake

A Time to Reconnect to the Pan-African Ideals

Atlanta, GA, USA - Africans in the Diaspora may visit Ghana at any time, but the country’s Tourism Minister would especially want them to visit next year when the West African nation celebrates 50 years of existence as a modern African nation.

Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, the Minister for Tourism and Diasporan Relations, recounting Ghana’s pan-African history, said the country’s 50th independence anniversary celebration, to be held March 6, 2007, is important, “because something happened 50 years ago on March 6, 1957 that was truly significant for African people everywhere. What happened was not just the lighting of the torch, but it was a wave that people, especially the government of Ghana went on to build into a whirlwind,” he said.

Ghana, the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence, from Great Britain, became the champion of pan-Africanism, leading a movement to end colonialism. The country’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, educated in the United States at the University of Pennsylvania, had a vision to unite Africans on the continent with peoples of African decent worldwide.

“As he stood there on the podium at midnight 1957, when the British flag came down and the new Ghana flag was raised, and the Gold Coast became Ghana, Nkrumah said, ‘the independence of Ghana is meaningless without the total liberation of Africa.’ We know from his words, by his talks and writings, that when he said ‘Africa’ he did not just mean the countries of Africa in the continent, he meant Africa and Africans--that the independence of Ghana is meaningless without the total liberation of Africa and Africans everywhere—that means wherever they lived,” the Minister surmised.

“Fifty years later, all of black Africa is ‘independent’. All the Caribbean nations, except for those that chose not to be, are free of the colonial yoke. And at this point, you have attained a level of civil rights that you did not have fifty years ago.”

Leading a delegation, which visited a number of U.S. and Canada cities, the Minister, speaking at the Trinity Methodist Church in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, issued a general invitation to Africans in the Diaspora to visit Ghana on the occasion to recommit to the ideals of pan-Africanism. “So that is why it’s important for all of us Africans everywhere to go back to Ghana in 2007 for the 50th anniversary, because 50 years ago a great movement was started and we should go back and examine where we left off. And I believe that we will come to the realization that after 50 years, Africans everywhere are not totally free and independent.

“We also find that Africans everywhere are still not emancipated. We are not at peace with ourselves. We do not support each other, and we are not healed. We are still not free of the mental chains, and we are still not free of prejudice. And until we free ourselves of the chains, we would not be able to make the 21st century the African century.” the Minister stated.

The program Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey announced that the yearlong celebration dubbed ‘Ghana@50,’ would start January 7, 2007 and end on January 8, 2008. The program’s theme will be ‘Celebrating African Excellence.’

“There are two highlights,” he said, “March 6th 2007, is the actual day for the marking of the 50th anniversary. The other highlight is the launching of the Joseph Project, which is scheduled for July through August. Accordingly, there are events planned every month that will celebrate African excellence in one field, whether it’s the sciences, the engineering, in sports, music, writing, etc.”

The Joseph Project The Minister responsible for Diasporan Relations indicated the ‘Joseph Project’ is the initial project of what he calls the ‘Akwaaba, Anyemi’ (friend) project, to welcome Africans in the Diaspora home. The thrust of the program, as he explained, is to also change the attitude of Ghanaians toward Africa American diasporans who either live in the country or visit there. Many of them have complained about the term ‘Obroni’ (white person) used to refer to them. The new term, a universal reference regardless of the local language is ‘Anyemi’ or friend.

“Over the years the government of Ghana has continued this outreach, some more and some less (to Africans in the Diaspora). We launched the Panafest, and the Emancipation Day,” he recalled.

“We are now starting to embark on the Akwaaba, Anyemi project because it builds on the outreach that was started by our political leaders in the 1920’s and 30’s when people like Casely Hayford were writing to people like Marcus Garvey and to people like W.E.B. Dubois to share with them the experiences that they were going through to share with them the struggles and to make sure it is part of all African peoples throughout the world.

He said the goal of the government, through the initiatives it has spearheaded thus far, is to “emancipate the African”. He also credited the resiliency of the African spirit for survival of African people and their culture in the face of its often-traumatic history.

“As we seek to fully emancipate the African. We seek to release all the strengths of the African. We seek to release the spirit of the African. We recognize that the African sprit is probably the strongest spirit of any ethnic group because if the African spirit was not as strong as it is then there is no way that those who were shipped across the middle passage, who get over here, in spite of what they suffered, when they arrived here, attempts were deliberately made to strip them of their identity, of their memory, of their culture, and of their language would have been able not only to survive that treatment but to overcome that treatment,” he said.

“If the African sprit was not as strong as it is tell me, why is it that African culture is the predominant culture in the world? Tell me why is it that today young Japanese children dance to African music. Tell me why is it classical Indian music has reintroduced rhythms to incorporate African rhythms. If the African spirit was not as strong as I believe it is strong then tell me why is it today that all dances are now based upon African dance. Why is it that hairstyles are based on African hairstyles? Why is it that Scandinavian children walk around in the snow with their jeans around their ankles? It is because of the power of the African spirit within us that the African has been able to persevere.”

Dual Citizenship During a question and answer session, the minister, addressing the Dual Citizenship question said the dual citizenship issue is the first thing that his ministry is tackling to regularize the immigration status of diasporans.

As an intermediate step, he announced that his ministry would introduce a ‘Diaspora Stamp’ in time for the launch of the 50th anniversary. He explained, the Stamp will be for diasporans from countries where they would need a visa to come to Ghana, and may upon arrival in Ghana with a visa the first time, apply for a Diaspora Stamp. When issued, he added, “Will allow diasporans to come to Ghana visa-free forever, so they will not need a visa to come back to Ghana.”

Again, on the Dual Citizenship question, he deferred to the African Union (AU), the continent-wide international body to address the issue. He revealed that the body was addressing the attaining of what he called, the ‘African Citizenship’’, which would be a general answer for the continent, instead of the granting of citizenship to a single country, “because it’s not really feasible for one country to say that we are going to give dual citizenship to every diasporan.” For example, he estimated, “there are 100 million Africans in Brazil, and only 20 million Ghanaians in Ghana,” adding jokingly, “there are more Ghanaians over here (in the US) than there are back home.”

While the Ghana government and other African leaders are eager to push for Dual citizenship, the minister, however hoped that it would not be trivialized. “We don’t want the dual citizenship to be some sort of a fashionable thing. People would just fly to Africa and get a dual citizenship and then Africa never hears from you again. We do want that you have made some commitment, that you are going to spend a part of your life there (Ghana). And that you are going to have some investment there, be living there or stretch your arms and say that ‘Ghana is my second home,’” he said.

As it stands today and the way it was passed, the minister elaborated: “Ghanaians who are born Ghanaians and have had a Ghanaian passport can attain a dual citizenship status, but those who have other passports would have to surrender their citizenship to get Ghanaian citizenship,” he stated.

But he said that the ministry has found a way around it. Although still under discussion, he hinted the plan, a joint endeavor between his ministry and the ministries of Foreign Affairs, and the Interior, “would allow us to grant a day stamp like, if you have an American passport you are committed to Ghana, you want to have dual citizenship then you should be allowed to have a stamp that gives you the status of dual citizenship. And it would make it easier as well to discriminate in favor of diasporans. So where normally you are required to do five years now we say you can do it within three years or less. We are examining that and hopefully by the time we launch in July all these issues would have been sorted.”

I am a ‘Joseph’ The citizenship question apparently was on the minds of the diasporans, many of whom have made measured commitments to Ghana and are eager to make the ultimate connection. Dr. Mariama Ross, Assistant Professor of Art Education at the Georgia State University was one of such examples.

“‘Me nye obroni’ (I am not a white person) ‘Me ye Obibini’ (I am a black person). Let me also say that I, like many of you, I am a Joseph or better said I am a Josephine (to be gender specific). I am turning my entire life around to allow me to live most of the time in Ghana and visit here (the US),” Dr. Ross said.

“I have one business already in Ghana, and I am starting others. I am in the process of moving there, to live there so Ghana is going to be my home. I am taking my education, my experience, my expertise, and my dream to Ghana because that is where my soul is at peace, “ she said. “The problem is that every 60 days I have to go to (Ghana Immigration Service) to renew my visa and that have been very tedious”.

The visit was at the invitation of the Ghana’s Homecoming 2007 and included the deputy Minister for Information and National Orientation, Ms. Oboshie Sai cofie; the Chairman, Mr. Nii Martey Kwao (Badi), and Co-Chair Hugh Aryee.