Ghana: On the Verge of Unprecedented Greatness Part II

This article is dedicated first to all the people of Ghana, and then to all Africans. In order to progress as a nation, it is necessary for us to talk about some of the simmering issues that are only discussed among families or in select groups of close friends or people of the same ethnic group. It is my hope that this article will lead to fostering greater understanding between the various peoples of Ghana. With tolerance, mutual cooperation and understanding we will be able to sort out our differences and be great.

1. Facing the Taboo subject I recently read an article on Ghanaweb where our Ghanaian brothers and sisters were fighting among themselves over an old subject which we have to face in order to move forward. Ghanaweb is a great place to meet and share ideas and individually express opinions and feelings. It is like the corner on the web for Ghanaians to meet and to speak their minds. Many of the Ghanaians on who frequent websites like this one are also the ones who will go on to play key roles in developing the country. So what is the taboo subject? Perhaps not so taboo, it lingers in the mental background of every Ghanaian. Ghanaians have strong affiliations with their ethnic group.

2. In the Beginning In ancient times, Man was perhaps a solitary being, fending for himself. Eventually groups of people banded together to form hunter-gatherer families to help each other survive. From these families grew extended families eventually creating the clan unit. From the clan unit the next unit of organization was the city-state, then the nation. In the modern world of today, we are faced with regional blocs of nations and some forces even want to move things to the global level. In Ghana we seem to be very much tied to up at the clan and city/state levels in our mental attitude, although we exist as a nation. Although we see ourselves as a nation, there are still tensions resulting from our common history of struggles between ethnic groups.

3. Divide and Conquer – External forces to contend with Let us suppose for the sake of discussion the existence of human forces that work to shape the direction taken by humanity in its development. I shall call these forces the 'powers that be'. I shall also suggest that these powers that be are the ones who largely organized the effort to colonize nations and are still active in today's world, looking out to satisfy their own perceived needs and interests. One of the favourite methods used is divide and conquer. This method has been so effective its successes can not all be overstated. These forces have been strongly represented in Europe to begin with but now cal also be found in the US and in some Asian countries. Everywhere the European colonizers went they saw opportunities to exploit local dissent and disunity among the local population, to their advantage. This is why divide and conquer has been so effective as a tool to control many of the peoples and cultures of this planet.

3. The Need to be United My brother, my sister, there is something beautiful about most Africans. Yes, a lot of Africans are not materially wealthy. Some have to grapple with disease and other problems. However unlike the other native peoples of the Americas or the Pacific (and perhaps more like some of the Asians) we Africans, although we had to grapple with the colonial divide and conquer period as well as our own inter-tribal struggles, we were not set out to be systematically exterminated and marginalized like the Native Americans (in the US, Canada and the South American countries) were by those who settled there. We were not marginalized like the Australian Aboriginal people or like some of our Africans brothers and sisters were in South Africa. The vast majority of sub-Saharan Africans still have their culture and are largely intact despite the difficulties of colonialism, slavery and other contemporary problems. So, what is our struggle? Politics, ethnicity and the challenge of development! I say we have an opportunity rather than a struggle.

4. The Common Denominator Who can help us but ourselves? We have to quickly realize that the game has changed. The drive to survive is no longer simply an exercise in physical struggle, control and domination through coercion as it had been on the tribal/ethnic level in various places throughout the world. Now the game is primarily an exercise in seeing who is smart, in fact savvy enough to be well organized and productive. The warrior-imperial culture has been superseded. That warrior-imperial culture used force and control/coercion to unify. Things are different today. The same resources are however still at stake. Imagine that in the past, two competing factions would meet and battle it out to decide who gets a resource. Now the same two factions, instead of fighting with their bodies will fight with their minds. The mental exercise expresses itself through education which leads to advances in science, the economy, to defense etc. Japan realized after the second world war that the way for them to win is not through arms and conquest but through economics so they vowed to destroy their weapons. That they did and look what happened? It's now history that anyone can go read about. The same drive to excel was channelled in another way and Japan became the second largest economy. Certainly there still will be physical aggression. Look at what the Israelis just did to the Palestinians and what the US has been doing in various places around the world. If they were broke they wouldn't have had that power to be dominant on the world stage. So my Akan brother, my Ewe brother, please stop fighting among yourselves.

Imagine two brothers who support different teams, one supports Hearts while the other supports Kotoko. They are very passionate about their teams but when it comes to African cup of nations or world cup, we don't say that because I am a Hearts fan I won't support the Kotoko goal keeper or because I am a Kotoko fan I won't support the Hearts number ten player?! No, we all support the Black stars and are happy when the stars do well as a team. What is more, the whole of Africa is happy even if the stars get to the quarter finals. Any African team that wins the world cup will make all Africans proud, certainly their country will have the biggest party. NDC, NPP it is a game, although one with real, non-trivial gains and losses that affect real lives, but a game nevertheless. Now we should put aside the Kotoko and Hearts allegiances to support the Black Stars....sure, until the next round! It should be healthy, not destructive. The brothers still live under the same roof and share history and substantial links with each other. They are after all, brothers. In times of trouble, who should they have to lean on but on each other? Ghanaians can be so friendly to Caribbean,African American, Arab, Asian and White foreign visitors but not to their own brothers and sisters who the share the same land with, work with, go to school with, go to church with and have had a common history for such a long time. This has to change, my friends. And certainly the younger generation (18-45) must play a key role in changing attitudes, you'll see in one generation we could be sorted, perhaps in less time.

Just under a hundred and fifty years ago the Akan were fighting among themselves. The Asante and the Akyem didn't like each other, the Akwamu hated the Akyem, the Gas hated the Akwamu and few liked the Denkyera while they were very dominant. The Ewe hated their ruler Agokoli I in Notsie so they moved away and settled in their current location which we now call Ghana. All this hatred resulted from games of survival (the warrior-imperial paradigm) using different rules from what we now employ. Because the Asante have traditionally been quite united, just as the Ewe are in their attitude, the Oyoko clan members built a powerful state. Today the Akan are more united among themselves through language and culture and are not as antagonistic among themselves as they were before. The Ewe are closely knit within their own group and are looking out for themselves. That in and of itself is not a bad thing. The Ewe probably felt like they moved from a hostile environment (escape from Notsie and from Agokoli I) to a new environment where they met another hostile force (Asante) so they had only themselves to look out for. This need not necessarily be so. We need to realize that the game has changed. We existed on the clan and city-state levels for a while, then some European powers showed up, the brown stuff happened and we were thrust onto the national stage. Instead of looking so much inwardly perhaps take those traits of unity that both the Asante and the Ewe display and reapply it in a different manner: to our collective national interests. As I said in my first article, if we employ tolerance, mutual cooperation and understanding toward each other, we will be the first to solve this problem of tribalism that has followed us from the clan and city-state stage to the national stage. We will transcend it and we will be great. We will be giving others lessons. Moving beyond ethnicity does not mean you will stop loving your ethnic group or your clan. Quite the contrary. It is because we mutually want to survive, progress and better our lives that we recognize the need to unite as a group.

So, what is the common denominator? This is what it is: As Africans, we are very diverse bunch but we are ultimately ONE PEOPLE. Only we can look out for ourselves. If you don't believe me, all you have to do is look at history and the way in which Arabs, Europeans/Americans (and soon Chinese, Indians and others) have used African and Africans. There has been little regard in the way Africans have been treated, yet we are so nice to these foreigners. Colonizers have disregarded our culture, they have insulted us, they have bombed our shrines and our sacred places out of spite (yes!), killed our leaders, installed puppets, spread disease and lies, brain washed and promoted wars, they have encouraged industrial-scale slavery and they have dominated and yet we are still nice to foreigners. My brother, my sister, there are a lot of historical facts to back what I am saying, it is time to wise up. I am not spreading hate for other races and peoples, that's not the point, at all! I am saying wise up. It's not that complicated. Africa is sitting on a gold mine of various resources and because Africans fight among themselves , outside forces have been able to play their games of manipulation to fulfill their own ends and perceived needs.

Ghanaians looking out for each other. Africans looking out for each other. This is the level at which our strong instincts for unity must now be re-channelled and applied. Certainly charity begins at home. First we must work on our problem in Ghana, and since Ghana has been a nation of firsts, when we succeed others will follow suit. Africans have been 'easy pickings' for more organized powers for far too long. If Ghana can solve this problem which is very strong in some African countries, I bet you the Nigerians, who have a similar problem won't want to sit around seeing Ghanaians being so successful, they will sort themselves out. Nigeria, a country that should be in a leadership position as far as Africa is concerned and here is Ghana taking the lead. I pray for the day Nigerians and all other African countries which have problems with ethnicity can say that they have worked out their ethnic differences.

The time for destructive fighting is over. It is time to rise up, stretch, walk, trot and then run! There is a lot of work ahead to be done. WE should know our neighbours and consider the possibility that one day we will be reaching out to them in a friendly manner. Akans should recognize their immediate brothers and sisters in Cote d'Ivoire (42% of the population) and in Togo. It is through the Ghanaian Nzema and perhaps the Brong Akan that the rest of the Akan in Cote d'Ivoire (Anyi, Baole etc) can be communicated with in their own language. It may also be important for both sides to learn and use English and French. That which has been used to divide us can also be used to unite us. The Dagaare and other ethnic groups in the North should continue to link up with their kinsmen in Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo and elsewhere. This goes for all groups in the Northern regions of Ghana, the Dagaara are only one example. The Ewe should be commended for having close links with kinsmen in Togo but in order to avoid complacency they should even think further afield to forge links with the Aja and Fon in Benin and beyond, keeping in mind the Common Denominator. We should work on improving our local language skills (nowadays some of us often tend to speak our local languages interspersed with a lot of English) if we are lacking there, and if there's more space, perhaps you could learn another Ghanaian language if you like, or even another African language.

If we keep in mind the Common Denominator (only we as Ghanaians, and eventually as Africans, can look out for ourselves) then the powers that be will have a harder time practicing divide and conquer and fomenting trouble in Africa. I'm not blaming all of our troubles on outsiders but we must recognize that there are powers out there that are also looking out for their own good as well. We need to stop fighting among ourselves and start to think about unity or at least indifference. When some of the Native Indian peoples of America realized the need to unite to preserve their interests, it was a bit too late for them.

5. Kwame Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba It is now no secret that these two pan-Africanists were 'taken out' by the powers that be. Divide and Conquer was applied to Nkrumah and Lumumba. Lumumba's case was so brazenly done. Now, if there were a hundred, a thousand or even a million Nkrumahs or Lumumbas, even if only in mindset, then it would have been very difficult or downright impossible for the powers to eliminate Nkrumah and Lumumba from Africa. Their ideas will have remained with a strong representation. I think a wise person once said that ideas are bullet-proof (which is perhaps also why the pen is mightier than the sword). British documentary maker Adam Curtis in his 1992 documentary series “Pandora's Box” has a feature on Ghana (in part 5 of the series) where it is clearly shown which of the powers that be 'took care' of Nkrumah, one of their own actually tells the story. It is no secret, everyone knows who it was and there was even an article on Ghanaweb about it (see below).

Perhaps Nkrumah was turning into a despot but this was for the Ghanaian people to decide how to work out their problem with their leader. Today we have in Ghana a system of electing officials into public office. We go through so much trouble to elect a national leader, so that afterwards we should all lend support to the elected leader. If the elected leader fails at the job there are constitutional ways to deal with the leader or this can be done at the next voting session. External forces should not interfere in the national affairs of other nation-states. Ghanaians and Africans should protect their rights to elect their own leaders and to determine their own future.

The same forces that have manipulated Africans since colonial times were heavily involved in Burundi, the Congo and Rwanda. Yes! In his excellent book 'Genocide and Covert Operations in Africa 1993-1999' Wayne Madsen provides so much evidence, revealing the play of the manipulation game in the background in America, Europe and elsewhere, where these players manipulated the play of what eventually became known as Africa's 'first world war' (see below). This was divide and conquer in full play, taking advantage of the differences that exist between the Africans of that region. All of a sudden South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Burundi were all in the Congo, protecting the mining interests of certain western Multinational companies and their national backers. Between 1997 and 2000 Uganda, a country that had never exported diamonds before became one of the world's leading exporters of rough diamonds because Ugandan rebels were looting the Congo and exporting the stuff through the influence of corrupt multinationals. The Congo has a whole host of resources including Columbite-Tantalite (Coltan), a key ingredient used in making mobile phones, laptop LCD screens etc. The DRC is gauged to have 25% of the world's natural Coltan resource, perhaps more. The country was looted. A series of reports were finally put together at the turn of the millennium by a panel of UN experts led by Safiatou Ba N'Daw, but some of the real 'why's behind the Congo conflict can be found in Madsen's book (see below) and from other writers. This particular book is rather expensive but can be found at a major public or university libraries in western countries.

Millions more have died as a result of the happenings in the Congo than died in Rwanda and Burundi in the early 90's but you scarcely hear of the magnitude of it. No one has made a movie about it because people are STILL making money there, at the expense of Africans. All of that, just for profit, because they could do it. So my Ghanaian brothers and sisters, please don't fight...the hawks are out there, waiting, salivating after profit and the children of Africa are the ones who will suffer for it.

Today, after 50 years of being independent African countries are once again looking at issues related to pan-Africanism. I'm saying that unless we get the unity thing right this time round, the divide and conquer forces may visit us again, this time in the guise of perhaps economic, ethnic or in the political differences. If we are smart and savvy perhaps the powers that be (be they Asian or Western) will have a harder time.

6. Africa, BRIC, the EU and the US The world has changed since Nkrumah's time when African leaders had to grapple with the struggles of the cold war. The USSR no longer exists and in the 1990's America was the acknowledged super power. However at the turn of the millennium, the global powers were restructured into a three-pronged power structure. In 2001 the organized group known as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) was formed, effectively creating a third power structure to counterbalance that of the US and the EU. Why is this relevant to Ghanaians and to Africans for that matter? It is so because if you want to understand which powers are currently operating in an African country and for what reason(s), the current power structure just described will come in handy.

The new emerging economies of the world need new resources to power up their industries just as the Europeans did. Once again, Africa has become a continent of interest particularly to the Chinese, making the Europeans and more recently the Americans ill at ease. The Westerners feel threatened, as if Africa is for them. China for the moment seems to be doing a better job helping African nations in their dreams to develop but who knows if or when they may decide to place themselves in a position of authority and influence over Africans? It is not only the Chinese who are beginning to come into Africa (same old story, different century). Brazil's president Lula da Silva made some rounds to Africa to promote trade ties with his country. Recently he has become more vocal on the world stage, singing military deals with France and lobbying to have Brazil on the UN Security council. So you can expect that in the future, in addition to Western powers (US and EU), Africans will also have to contend with the influences of BRIC.

Once Africans start to look out for themselves, first on the national level and then beyond, some of these more organized groups will have a harder time just doing what they want with natural resources found in Africa.

7. The Press, The Black Gold and Keeping the Peace I shall now bring the discussion back to our own country Ghana. It can be said that one of Ghana's big assets is freedom of speech as it applies to press freedoms. Of all the international rankings our highest is in press freedom (31/175) ahead of many major countries. We also rank highly on the Global Peace index (40/122). In the recent elections, some foreigners were surprised that election results were announced immediately on the radio. We've all read that the elections were not 100% perfect however I think that if we continue to guard the right to free speech, it will be more difficult for external manipulators or corrupt holders of office to misuse their positions of power. If we continue to promote a culture where everything is in the open with credible evidence then there will be fewer or no secrets and that will make things one step more difficult for the Ghanaian people to be manipulated from internal or external influences.

This will be particularly important as far as the oil discovery is concerned. From worldwide accounts, we all know what troubles the black stuff can attact. If we act as a united people then any evidence of possible future foul play (God forbid) will be seen as just that and all will be exposed for all to see. Hopefully we'll follow the good example of countries like Norway who have used their oil money to build schools, hospitals, transportation and infrastructure etc. and invested the rest to create a surplus for their country's coffers. We could add Norway to Japan as possible role models of Ghana.

SUMMARY OF POINTS 1. Each African person is first a spirit, then a human being, then an African, then an Akan, Baganda, Dagomba, Ewe, Igbo, Kikuyu, Mande, Shona, Tswana, Yoruba, Zulu etc

2. Looking out for each other on a clan or ethnic/tribal level are learned behaviours passed on from earlier generations. In and of themselves such behaviours are not wrong or bad but represent attitudes deriving from a state of society as it existed at a different, earlier period. Since such behaviours are learned and not automatic or even an inherent reflection of any African culture, they can be unlearned. In fact I've suggested in this article that the attitude of unity towards one's clan or ethnic group should be amended to strongly include a national focus: Looking out for all Ghanaians. Remember the Black Stars! Also, remember the Common Denominator!

3. Such an attitude will more accurately reflect our current state of affairs as a multicultural, multi ethnic society of individuals living together under one nation, one banner. Looking out for the national interest does not mean you no longer love your ethnic group. Today most Ghanaians are likely comfortable having a traditional leader as well as a president for the entire country.

4. That based on what has been said in this article Ghanaians who are not already doing so and who have read the article can start to consider the possibility of seeing individuals from other ethnic groups as their brothers and sisters.

5. That Ghanaians who were not previously seeing members of certain other ethnic groups as brothers and sisters and who still find it difficult to do that even after reading this article should consider the possibility of seeing members of other ethnic groups as 'strategic partners', giving what we have to face together as a nation: the external disruptive forces that we have come up against in the past, and other potential external disruptive or manipulative forces that we may come up against in the future who may work against our mutual goal of development as a nation and as a continent of African people. Although it is better to live and let live, national unity can be achieved and seen for the necessary condition that it is without every single human being having to like every single other human being.

6. Please share this article with like-minded Ghanaians and/or Africans. Akpe! Baraka! Medawa se! Na gode! Oyi wala don!

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Nana Kwame Danquah lives in Ghana and in the UK and can be reached at akwadapa@hotmail.com

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Further Material: Reporters Without Borders - Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2008". Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index. Reporters sans frontières. Retrieved on 2009-01-12. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=29031

"Global Peace Index Rankings". Global Peace and Sustainability. Economist Intelligence Unit, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney, Australia and some Peace Institutes and Think Tanks. Retrieved on 2007-05-30. http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi/results/rankings/2008/

Assassination of Nkrumah by the CIA http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/cia_nkrumah.php http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=75990

Genocide and Covert Operations in Africa, 1993-1999 http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/MAD111A.html

Peport of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo http://www.natural-resources.org/minerals/CD/other.htm (UN articles further down on the page)

Information on Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRIC) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRIC

Ghana, On the Verge of Unprecedented Greatness, Part I http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=156653