7 facts to love about Ghana

The World Cup is almost over, and not to disregard whichever country ends up taking the trophy (g’wan Germany), but there is one country which I will remember as the real winner of the event – Ghana.

I make this claim on the basis that Ghana was the first African country to make it this far in the world cup, but even more significantly; as the Black Stars played with skill and panache against Uruguay, it became evident that they were representing not only Ghana, but all of Africa. For a short while black people and Africa supporters all over the world were united in love and admiration.

In light of this, I wanted to highlight in a series of seven, as is my tradition, some facts about Ghana I find worth celebrating.
1. The Black Stars – Props to the US football team for qualifying and doing well in the World Cup, but even more props to Ghana Black Stars for being the ones to beat the world power out of the cup. As mentioned above props also to the Black Stars for uniting the African diaspora during a great quarter final match.

2. Kwame Nkrumah – “The emancipation of the African continent is the emancipation of man”. The life of Ghana’s first president as an independent nation is a testimony to the words he grandiosely expressed.

3. Mimi Areme – Miss Ghana is beautiful of course, but she is also a young woman doing positive things for her country, such as dedicating her year as miss Ghana to deal with the issue of child trafficking in the country.

4. Yaa Asantewa – No woman is better known for her response to European power in Africa. As commander-in-chief of the Asante soldiers in the Yaa Asantewa war she was the brain behind the army, and although Ghana lost to the British, the defense led to her being recognized by the Brtish as the Joan d’Arc of Africa.

5. Democratic role model – I think Ghana benefits from Nigeria’s failures. Not taking away from the Ghanaian successes by any means, but at times it’s easier to know what you don’t want than what you do want. It seems Ghana knows that it does not want to make similar mistakes that Nigeria has made after discovering oil.

6. David Adjaye – A British Ghanaian architect, leaving his mark on the world with world-famous buildings such as the Bernie Grant’s art centre and Iniva museum in London and the upcoming National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. He is also responsible for a consciously positive photography exhibition called ‘Urban Africa’ currently on display in London.

7. Obaasema – Founded by Linda Annan and based in Philadelphia, Obaasema is an Afropolitan empowerment and lifestyle magazine for the modern African woman. Be warned, you could easily spend a few hrs browsing!