₦airaland Forum

Recently, I had the pleasure of traveling to Ghana for 10 days to explore the history and culture of the region. And contrary to America's heightened fear that traveling to West Africa would give me Ebola, I am fortunate to reassure you that I am happy and healthy.

Now that your potential conditioned hysteria is reduced, here is something you should be concerned about:

Black America, we have so much to actually learn about Africa -- and yes, it does matter.

For far too long, our perceptions have been negatively impacted by white dominated narratives that have plagued our grade school text books and public discourse about the Motherland. The separation between our people across the diaspora is not just geographic, but philosophic. And while both sides can assess blame on boasting superiority against the other -- Black America's constant dismissal of the continent in our identity makes us the bigger culprit.

I, too, was once guilty of this -- but sometimes it takes one to go back and re-direct the masses. Consider this my form of "Sankofa."

These were my five major takeaways during what has now become my restored relationship to the ancestral homeland:

1) Privilege is real.

During my stay in Ghana, for the first time in my life I felt what it was like to be in the majority. Most of the population is black and the experience of seeing my skin color on nearly every television station, public arena, and facet of society gave me a psychological gratification and confidence. A sense of pride that allowed me to walk in the street without feeling targeted. A level of high self-esteem when I told people my professional aspirations and was sincerely heard and not interrogated. My time in Africa gave me a first-hand look at what it feels like to not be a second-class citizen in society. It showed me how much America has tried to ignore the existence of white privilege when it is actually engrained. On a lighter note, please don't believe American companies when they say they cannot produce quality black television commercials and programs... I saw tons that would put ours to shame.

2) Understanding slavery in the past explains the current struggles of today.

"Get over it," they tell us back home in the United States. There is absolutely no way we can and should when it paints a larger picture of the current systematic obstructions that are relevant to our present. In Africa, slavery is discussed and they actually have renowned museums and tourist attractions that cater specifically to the topic... I'm still waiting America. When visiting the former Elmina slave castles near the coast of Ghana, I felt a sudden sense of immediate anger, emotion, and frustration in how much of the manipulation and strategic disenfranchisements blacks faced then are still prevalent. Same crap, just a different day.

3)Sorry, Raven-Symoné -- but we are indeed African-Americans.

Just because you cannot find your exact roots on a continent, doesn't mean they aren't apart of your ethnic make-up. That would be just as dumb as assuming that not knowing your father means you weren't conceived by one. Coming to the realization of what it means to be an African-American rather than simply "American" gives me a more honest rationale as to why I face the current obstacles in a nation that speaks of "equality and justice for all." Furthermore, it re-teaches me that my legacy didn't start when my ancestors entered the West from slave ships (that's only the second half of my identity), but that there was an enriched culture before America -- and that was in Africa.

4) Oppression of black people is an international concern.

Just as we fight for justice in Ferguson here in America, our brothers and sisters across the Atlantic are dealing with the discrimination and mistreatment of mass hysteria related to Ebola. Across the diaspora, blacks are feeling ostracized from the global discourse of how to protect their own communities. Such lack of representation of Africans being able to address how to eradicate their own problems reflects a worldwide stigma of having black leadership. Although our issues at surface level are distinct, fundamentally we are tackling the same mission: making black lives matter.

5) There needs to be more cross-continental discourse of connecting blacks across the diaspora.

Enough with just having cultural food and music fairs... let's have a discussion about universally helping one another socially. When I attended college, it often aggravated me how black Americans felt Africans were another foreign group of people they could not identify with. And it was also troubling to see some native Africans look down on blacks in the country for not feeling as self-confident and culturally strong about their heritage. At this very moment in our present history, we now more than ever need to put down our media-driven stereotypes about one another and have real conversations about it. I am tired of seeing too many people of color help one another among regional affiliations and not the diaspora as a whole. Because the truth of the matter is that the rest of the world do not see us any differently and by strengthening our connections we can better combat these problems.

In closing, my travels to the continent gave me a fresh perspective on how I relate to blacks across the diaspora and how their burdens shape my work here in America. A lot of what the black community is trying to look for in themselves in our media, education, and economy can be found in the legacy and teachings that come from our brothers and sisters across the Atlantic.

This is not to say that I am entirely dismissive of American values and opportunities, I have been privileged on a technological and industrial level. However, I do believe that now is the time to expect more than just survival, and begin to thrive.

It is going to take more than just a village... but an entire continental shift in unifying self-value for all people of color.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ernest-owens/5-lessons-traveling-to-af_b_6065146.html

overhypedsteve:
shartup! The world is just too big for Ghana to find relevance in. Why cant you just renounce your ghanian citizenship and seek asylum in Sambisa forest Nigeria.

Will rather seek asylum in Somalia or Iraq...Nigayria? Its a No from me.

Fuccccking Eba eaters

overhypedsteve:
yea. They are humble enough to kiss his balls. Ghanian leaders kissing the balls of nigerian business men since 1960.

typical Alata man

see what generator fumes n kidnapping has caused?

.

Nigerian business magnate, Chief Dele Momodu, says he is proud to associate with Ghana because “the country is blessed with humble leaders”.

In his view, Africa needs more of the kind of leaders who have emerged in Ghana over the years.

“I lived with President Kufuor on my street in Ghana throughout the time he was in government, he never stopped us from driving in front of his house, he never made us park before he passed and we were not scared”

“ I also remember that when President Atta Mills (late) started, he was going from Regimanuel estate. I knew people use to say that he was too slow and was not spending government money but you don't spend government money any how. That is the kind of leader Africa needs.” the publisher of the Ovation Magazine told KSM on the KSM Show on Metro TV, Friday.

According to him, until African voters begin to realise that it is their responsibility to vote out corrupt leaders, their circumstances will not change.

He bemoaned the situation in Nigeria, where he says, electorates lack the confidence to vote for a change of government.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/artikel.php?ID=333122&utm_source=&utm_medium=facebook

Ghana has taken legal action under a United Nation convention to resolve a maritime border dispute with Ivory Coast over water close to oil fields licensed by British firm Tullow Oil.

Ghanaian Attorney General, Marrieta Brew Appiah-Oppong, said oil companies could continue to operate during the arbitration process, which could take up to three years.

Ghana filed the suit under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea after 10 bilateral meetings failed to resolve the issue, she said. The two countries have never officially agreed on the boundary and their maps of territorial waters overlap.

A resolution is crucial for oil and gas exploration and it could end any uncertainty for Tullow, which first discovered the Tweneboa, Enyenra, and Ntomme cluster development in 2009 in Ghana’s Deepwater Tano licence close to the disputed area.

“I don’t think we will lose. We are extremely confident about this case,” Appiah-Oppong told a news conference in the Ghanaian capital, according to Reuters.

Oil is a major source of revenue in Ghana, a politically stable country with a fast-growing economy that also yields gold and cocoa. Ivory Coast, the world’s top producer of cocoa, is also growing strongly after years of political turmoil.

Earlier, Ghanaian Minister of Communications Edward Omane Boamah told Reuters the goal of the talks was a peaceful settlement and the government wanted to retain good relations with its western neighbour.

Tullow is the largest stakeholder in the TEN project and its partners are Anadarko, Kosmos Energy, Sabre Oil & Gas Holdings Limited as well as the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation.

Oil exploration in Africa’s Gulf of Guinea has accelerated since Ghana discovered the giant Jubilee offshore oil and gas field in 2007 and Tullow brought it online in record time in late 2010.

Ivory Coast, which drilled only a handful of exploration wells during a decade-long political crisis that ended in 2011, is now seeking to develop its potentially lucrative offshore oil and gas sector.

Ivory Coast accused Ghana in April 2013 of encroaching on a part of its maritime territory rich in hydrocarbons

There are two African countries Nigerians like comparing their country with: Ghana and South Africa. While South Africa is industrialised and is easily Africa’s largest economy, Ghana is reputed for law and order as well as its entrenchment of democratic ethos and practice. Since 1992, when former President Jerry Rawlings transmuted from military to civilian president, Ghana has been able to alternate political power between political parties without bloodshed. That is a feat Nigeria has not been able to achieve. It is not a matter of pride: We have a lot to learn from our neighbours. I am not suggesting in any way that the Ghanaian example is near perfect. But they are making progress in so many areas that Nigeria is still lagging behind. One of such is the health insurance coverage for Ghanaian citizens.

In 2005, President Olusegun Obasanjo launched the National Health Insurance Scheme. To me, that is one of the best things the Nigerian government has conceived in decades. While there might be imperfections here and there, the concept is unassailable. It is meant to make health care delivery available to every Nigerian no matter their status. Millions of Nigerians are denied medical treatment because they do not have the cash. It is either they are too poor to pay or circumstances restrict their access to immediate cash. The ATM could fail at critical times. Medical emergencies can happen at odd hours. With the social health insurance scheme, the general idea is to make medical services available to NHIS enrolees anytime, any day and anywhere without cash transaction.

But as good as this scheme is, the snag is that less than five per cent of the Nigerian populace is covered by the health insurance scheme. Most of the enrolees are Federal Government workers (and their dependants) and a few employees in Organised Private Sector. Some communities have also keyed into the scheme. The Federal Government employees were practically coaxed into enrolling some years ago. The then head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, issued a directive making it compulsory for them to enrol. Initially, there was natural resistance from workers, who justifiably received the scheme with scepticism, having not had a pleasant experience with the housing contribution scheme. Up till today, states and local governments have refused to participate in the health insurance scheme, thereby denying millions of their workers and dependents the benefits.

However, I think there is so much we can learn from Ghana if we can swallow our pride and take a cue from an obviously smaller nation. The health insurance scheme in Ghana was conceived by Mr. John Kufuor when he was campaigning for the presidency in 2003. He personally felt there was no point continuing with the regime of cash-and-carry health care delivery system being practised in the country at the time. In fact, it was in the manifesto of his party, the New Patriotic Party. The manifesto was so detailed that it covered those diseases that were common to 90 per cent of Ghanaians. To make the scheme outlive those who conceptualised it, and in order to ensure its continuity, two major lists were made. One had all the conditions the scheme could cover, while the other had the excluded conditions.

The government came out with a minimum benefit package of diseases which every districtwide scheme was to cover for Ghanaian citizens. This package covered malaria, diarrhoea, upper respiratory tract infection, skin diseases, hypertension, diabetes and asthma. However, all districtwide schemes were given the right under the law to organise their schemes to cover as many diseases and services for Ghanaian citizens as they desire, provided it was approved by the National Health Insurance Council. Certain diseases were excluded from the benefit package because they were considered to be too expensive to treat. Other arrangements had to be considered for treatment. Diseases currently not covered are optical aids, hearing aids, orthopaedic aids, dentures, beautification surgery, supply of AIDS drugs, treatment of chronic renal failure, heart and brain surgery, etc. Interestingly, these constitute only five per cent of diseases afflicting Ghanaian citizens.

Having been able to overcome this issue of coverage, which was meant to ensure that the scheme did not become the exclusive preserve of those with sicknesses erroneously considered as those of the rich, Ghana moved to the next stage: the critical issue of funding. When the NPP won the Ghanaian presidency in 2004, the opposition National Democratic Congress criticised the scheme, saying it was meant for members of the new party in power, the NPP. Hence, the NDC did not encourage its members to register for the scheme. Even members of the ruling NPP erroneously thought too that it was for them alone. The controversy that initially surrounded the scheme at its inception was revisited in 2009 when the NDC now took over power and saw the benefits of the scheme beyond politics.

To fund the scheme, Ghanaians were made to register and pay according to the income of the enrolee. Like all insurance schemes, there were different types of contributions (private insurance talks about premiums, social insurance talks about contributions). To ensure that all Ghanaian citizens made some contribution to the scheme, a 2.5 per cent Health Insurance Levy on selected goods and services was passed into law so that the money collected could be put into a National Health Insurance Fund to subsidise fully paid contributions to the District Health Insurance Schemes.

While the Ghana version of social health insurance has been a story of success, the same cannot be said about Nigeria’s. A major difference is the structure of the country. Ghana runs a unitary system, meaning there is a central government that controls the affairs of the country. It was, therefore, easier to make every Ghanaian comply with the health insurance law. Nigeria runs a federal system, which means power is shared between the central government and the states. While the former head of service of the federation could direct all Federal Government employees to be part of the scheme, he had no such powers over state and council employees. With the current struggle over “true federalism”, the struggle to spread health insurance across the country is an uphill one. It is not surprising that no state is part of the NHIS programme yet. Millions of Nigerians are still receiving medical attention on a cash-and-carry basis.

The NHIS cannot cater for all Nigerians even as it seeks universal coverage. The fact is that it cannot muster the funds. Ghana has devised creative ways of funding the scheme, but the NHIS still depends largely on Federal Government’s contributions. The NHIS may have done well in enrolling over four million Nigerians, but there are over 100 million still waiting to be enrolled. Most are vulnerable and unable to pay contributions on their own. Somebody will have to pay on their behalf so that they can benefit from the package. Several suggestions are on the table to cater for those who cannot afford to enrol: a “sin tax” (on cigarettes and alcohol consumption), mobile phone call tax (one kobo per second), redistributionof VAT, and so on. The tragedy is that our political elite would not consider social health insurance as a desirable good for the poor, unlike the Ghanaian elite. Political will has seen to the success of social health insurance in Ghana while we are still dragging our feet in Nigeria. It is something to be ashamed of, if we ever decide to take stock.

- Dr. Johnson is a social health reform activist.

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waternogetenemy:
Not this Ghana liar again with his fake story...



Do Gaynians ever tell the truth?

Typical Nigerian

The Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) has expressed satisfaction with work on the Atuabo Gas Plant as a test run on the plant proved successful.

A series of tests was carried out over the weekend on the 111-kilometre Onshore pipelines from Atuabo in the Ellembelle district to Aboadze in the Shama district.

The test formed part of the process to check the integrity of the pipeline and to identify and correct potential leakages along the pipeline before the tie-in of the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant (GPP) to the Jubilee field gas reservoirs.

It followed the conclusion of mechanical completion of the Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Development Project (WCGIDP) and successful hydro-testing of its Offshore Pipeline.
A statement from GGC however, indicated: “During the test, a pin-hole leak was identified at one of the over 10,000 pipe joints laid under the surface of the earth. Appropriate isolation valves have subsequently been engaged and plans for remedial works promptly begun”.

“We are satisfied with the test on the onshore pipeline and we are excited by the fact that just a small portion of the pipeline has thrown up a minor challenge that would be rectified by tomorrow” Director of Operations, Dr Ben Asante, said.

The statement assured the public that “there are no safety concerns whatsoever and we are satisfied with the safety protocol being employed for the testing of the pipeline”.
http://announcernewsonline.com/ghana-gas-ready-as-final-test-proved-successful-p4503-218.htm

Ochillary:
Have Y̶̲̥̅̊o̶̲̥̅̊и̣̣̣̣̥​​ seen ghana win a trophy before??

2009 Ghana won U-20 WORLD CUP.

a country of 200million people and your best player is mikel obi

So why cant Nigeria with a population of 180million people, select just 11 people to play against Ghana with a population of 25million.

Since 2006 naija has never won a game against Ghana. Does it mean Niaja produce only Quantity players and as compared to Ghana Quality.

for example just look at

Mikel vs Essien

Asamoah Gyan vs Eminike

Abedi Pele vs JJ Okocha

DISCUSS

Since 2006 Nigeria has never won a game against Ghana. Nigeria has not even been to Quarter finals of world cup before but they went to world cup before Ghana. Why

JiggamanGh:
Yes time to disgrace these Eba eaters. Asamoah gyan is going to spell nigeria for yall

Cutehector4u:
Guy i disagree...na dem loyal pass and easy goin..its the cute ones dat are arrogant and annoying...trust me...

overhypedsteve:
Wale ur presido dun go pay homage

..

have noticed this a number of times.its mostly the very ugly nigerian girls who put on airs
u try to be polite to them and them dey think say na toast u dey try to toast them.they are so arrogant and full of themselves.the other day i saw this naija girl with k-leg and duck eyes and i as i was trying to say hello to her she just snapped at me and opened her duck eyes at me saying, "shuo! wetin u wan dey disturb me for".i was taken aback.imagine this ugly lookin duck eyed naija chick snapping at me because i was just saying goodmorning to her.abeg some of u wowo naija girls too dey arrogant

Naija girls too like money and material things no be small.One of the main reasons why the average naija babe go get up to ten boyfriends na because of money.dem wan dey chop from left and right.Ehen u ask out a naija babe today and if u no get up to 180 k for ur bank account she go vex ask u wether na love she wan chop.u buy flower for a naija babe she go use hot frying pan chase u dey ask wether na flower ur mates dey buy for their babe.this na why i like oyibo girls.give oyibo babe flower she go hug and kiss u.wether na face-me-i-face-u u dey stay an oyibo babe no mind she go still date u.wether na lebuke(bricklayer) work u dey do an oyibo babe no go mind sef.she go still introduce u to her friends as her boyfriend.for a naija babe na different matter ooo.u carry naija babe as ur girlfriend u don carry market for head.na so u go dey take care of all her financial wahala.na u go buy for her different brands of brazilian wigs,na so u go dey give her monthly subscriptions for her different BBs.all the time na money money she go dey ask u.wetin sef for naija babes. ehen a babe wey im papa and mama na for mud hut dem dey stay and wey the richest person for their village na long john he dey ride(bicycle)go start to dey form if u prepare eba and bitter leaf soup for her.she go dey tell u say for her family dem dey forbid eba and dat na omelette dem dey chop .she go want make u take her go a very expensive fast food resturant and if u manage take her she go dey demand for expensive red wine.Naija babes make una mend una ways oooo.money no be everything.

overhypedsteve

JEITO:
Did he go to beg for money or bail out

ask google

mynd44

As part of his Official Visit to the United Kingdom, President John Dramani Mahama and his wife, Lordina, on Thursday visited the Buckingham Palace for a private meeting with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. President Mahama and the Queen discussed a number of issues of common interest to the two countries, while the Queen was interested in the First Lady's health-related activities and humanitarian support. President Mahama presented the Queen with a copy of his first book, My First Coup D'etat And Other True Stories from the Lost Decades of Africa.