ICU

GHANA HOSTS THE LONG-AWAITED SON OF THE LAND

All eyes were on Ghana, the tiny little West African country with very “strange” culture and history when President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America paid a 2-day visit, from the 10^th of July to the 11^th. This makes Ghana the first African country to be visited by the President of the world’s only surviving super power, since taking over the White House.

Made up of a population of about 20.5 million and a total land area of 238,500 sq km, Ghana stands tall among all her West African neighbours when democracy and human right records are used as indicators in measuring the nations of West Africa.

It may interest you to know that, Brother Obama’s visit was not the first time Ghana hosted a US President. In 1998, the 42nd President, Bill Clinton made a six-hour stopover in Ghana during a six-nation tour of Africa.

Ghana was blessed with another opportunity to host George Bush, the 43rd President during a five-nation Africa tour.

And this year, as if the showers of blessings were not enough we were flooded with yet another blessings and opportunity of hosting the 44 president of the USA. This visit would have assumed the same respect and dimensions of the previous visits in all magnitude, except that that the President is one of our kind, an African American. The uniqueness was that we were not receiving a visitor, rather we were welcoming home a brother and a sister and their children. Simply put a homecoming of part of the extended family. We were happy and appreciative of the homecoming.

However if there is group in Ghana that was  more than happy as result of Obama’s visit  then it was the opposition NPP party. Our history shows that any time a sitting US president paid Ghana a visit the party in power lost to the opposition in the next general election.

When President Clinton visited Ghana, it was the NDC that was in power and just after that visit they lost to the opposition NPP during the next general election. When President Bush paid us a visit it was the NPP that was in power and just after that the NPP lost to the NDC in the 2008 election. And now comes Brother Barack Obama and the opposition NPP makes a sigh of good relief and says Welcome home brother with all the good luck and blessing that cometh with thee!

For trade unions what do we say? Welcome home brother, may your visit bring more investments, leading to more jobs and development. Long live Ghana, Long live Africa long live America, and Long live the Obama’s.