Baring Testament

I am back in Ghana for the first time in 6 years. This is my second ever visit and it feels so different coming back. It's funny that coming here aged 18 I was really impressed by my country. I think being born and raised in the UK, my family back home expected me to be wholly underwhelmed. People hyped up Ghana's negatives in an attempt to make the country seem better to me than they had advertised it to be. It seemed to me to be a ploy. A rather perverse way to make me fall in love with my heritage.

This strategy was misguided to say the least. I was more than ready to love Ghana. Contrary to popular belief (in Ghana), many of us abrokyirefuo enkola are more than ready to embrace the country of our parents. It helps give a sense of identity when living in a country (like the UK) where people forever ask 'where are you really from?'.

This return journey however sees me in a much different mood. I'm in Accra for a few days (which to me equals me being lost! Being from a pure Kumasiano family--don't judge me :P) am I'm taking a better look than the fleeting glance of a few years back.

All of a sudden I am not so impressed. It's like looking at a beautiful picture with cracks in it. As I've grown older I think I have become more and more invested in being a Ghanaian. I am emotionally invested in our sport (as you can tell), politics, language and culture. But the more invested I am, the more pain I seem to feel. It's like watching a child with 'so much potential' hit 30...and all that they have achieved is the title of 'the former child with so much potential'.

Arguments that diasporian Ghanaians should come 'back home' and set to rights their country have always erked me. Firstly, because in many ways for people like me it is no more 'coming home' that it is for any random African-American. It's just not really home. You see, you can never mistake home, love it or hate it there are particular emotions linked to the idea of home that separate diasporians from our 'home-grown' counterparts. Secondly, I think it is somewhat disrespectful to barge in and take over what you don't know. Who am I as a diasporian to Waltz in and decide my way is better? There is much to be said for local knowledge. It's priceless.

Nonetheless, I feel disappointed somehow in Ghana. There is a lot to be done and I feel like the country has stagnated. But there is also much to be hopeful for. There is a generation emerging who want to make a change; I want to be a part of that somehow. I need to find my place in helping to get it all done.

(First published on Life...and Living It)

I am actually surprised at myself. For all my complaining about the lack of real difference between the main parties and no interesting wars on the policy front that I have done, I am quite looking forward to this year’s general election. Maybe, I am being caught up in all the hype—and that fact that Newsnight, my drug of choice, is on more than is necessary, or healthy, and slave to the media that I am I just HAVE to watch it. Whatever, the reasons are, I am being dragged into the mix and find myself debating politics (albeit, ‘softcore ‘politics) with all and sundry.

Consider...

Last night, I was at a revision session at my church for GCSE and A-Level students. I am one of the volunteer tutors, tutoring on Maths, Art and Government and Politics. I got a little kick going through the AS-Level Politics syllabus and remembering the subject that got me started on my current career path. But I was amazed just talking with the kids, at how knowledgeable some of them were. Excluding my tutee (can you even say that?!) from this discussion for obvious reasons, I found myself engaged in some lovely and at times lively debate about what people believed the parties stood for, about the recession, foreign policy and negative campaigning. I was genuinely amazed. I think I have always taken the somewhat pompous view that 95% of the electorate knows nothing much about politics. And for that reason I shall be lumped with a leader that about 20 people voted for because nobody knows or cares enough to vote sensibly, if at all. But here I was with a group of children, having to rethink my views.

Fair enough, they do not count as the electorate as they cannot actually vote. But what this little encounter did show me was that for children to be passionate and knowledgeable about politics there must be some adults somewhere around them who have been thinking these issues through. I’m happy to see that people are not as disengaged as I thought they were...or maybe I just know people who are from politically aware backgrounds? Who knows? But I prefer to look on the bright side...

Today at 8.30pm in Manchester, British political history was made...the main party leaders came together for the first ever televised debate in the run up to the general election.

Am I the only person who thinks that it is a joke for the BNP to be forced to accept non-whites and then claim they are therefore no longer racist?

Their propaganda is disgusting:

Today marks a year since Barack Obama came to office and the world went collectively mad. I think I should remind people of the fever pitch that had spread from America and affected the world. Liberal American's seemed to think that the Democrats had somehow got a black Jesus running for them, African's claimed him as one of their own because he is half-Kenyan and therefore about to drag the continent out of it's abject poverty and us Brits...well I don't really know why but Obamamania had us to in it's clutches and refused to let go. People were hosting Obama parties, in fact I have never seen Brits embrace American's in quite this way, we don't tend to respect American's, at least not so effusively in the open. But here it was! The Obama, 'Yes we can' magic was breathtaking in that manner.