Oslo Celebrates Ghana’s 57th Independence

It was fun and excitement when the Ghanaian community in Oslo and its surrounding areas came together to celebrate Ghana’s 57th Independence Day anniversary on Saturday, 08th March 2014.

Having been granted the mercies of a gorgeous weather, Ghanaians and friends in several hundreds honoured the invitation from Ghana Union Norway to toast their motherland yet again. Even though the programme was far behind schedule, the delightful ambience of the event completely wiped out this rather unfortunate aspect of the programme.

The party, which started with an opening prayer, was followed by a masterful performance from Divine Laar Sillim, a 10 year-old boy who played the Ghana national anthem on the piano. Divine`s outstanding skills attracted a special Ghana Union Norway award acknowledging his contribution. Next was a speech to introduce invited guests and the Council of Elders by the Secretary of the union, Mr Desmond Frimpong.

Since 8th March also happens to be the International Women’s Day, it was observed as such by the Ghana Women’s Union. In a short speech delivered by a member of the Women’s Union, Ms Joyce Banahene, she pleaded with attendees to celebrate the achievements of women and also reflect on the extraordinary accomplishments of women in shaping our country's history. The speech was climaxed by a birthday present to Ms Gina Addai, whose 50th birthday anniversary fell on that day.

It was shortly followed by a welcome speech by the President of the union, Mr Richard Asante. Mr Asante thanked the invited guests for honouring our invitation and also extended a special thank you to our main sponsor, Western Union for being generous enough to sponsor the event and appealed to them to continue with their support at future events. A sumptuous variety of dining options were made available by our unpretentious caterers.

The Ghanaian football teams in Oslo and Drammen were given special recognition for their sportsmanship in football. In given out the awards, the Mr Asante appealed to the youth to take up sports which is always better than them getting bored and doing drugs and other social vices. This part of the event came to a close with a splendid live musical performance by up and coming rapper, Bright Owusu.

MCs for the night were beautiful Chelsea Baah, an 11 year-old girl who charmed the attendees with her humour and insight. She was capably backed by indefatigable John Akowuah, aka Johnny Wagoods. Chelsea Baah`s invaluable service, which was greatly appreciated by everyone, received an award from the President of the union, Mr Asante.

At the climactic stage of the occasion, members from the Ghanaian community and the invited guests were moved from their seats by our five top class Djs, namely, Dj Kojo, Mr Jay, Dj Israel, Dj Emma and Dj De Lambert with some wonderful Azonto and Alkayida (Al Qaeda) tunes mixed with some West African collections making guests wanting and gasping for more. It was a remarkable night of great music and dance, laughter and friendship - a night that has been critically acclaimed by many as one of the best independence parties ever to be held in Oslo.

Desmond Frimpong

Secretary, Union of Ghanaians in Norway