Ghana is a beautiful country.
However, with anything that is a thing of beauty, there are issues or parts that are not entirely beautiful.
People who have lived in Ghana for a long time are sometimes always focused on the negatives and the not so pretty parts of Ghana.
This is not just about pretty geography, but even with regards to the economy, health, education, science and technology advancement, social cohesiveness among others.
Irrespective of the challenges that people living in Ghana encounter that often makes them want to check out of this country, the massive international Public Relations enjoyed by this country makes others want to come here.
A lot of Africans and others living in the diaspora idolise Ghana so much that an increasing number of people have shared that they want to move here.
Stevie Wonder and recently Dave Chappelle have both mentioned this.
A number of things have contributed to this Ghana pull factor.
Ghana and the Liberation of Africa
As the first sub-Saharan African country to have gained independence and later supporting others to gain their own independence, Ghana is often seen as a great liberator and freedom fighter.
On every independence day, lots of African send well wishes to Ghanaians for leading the way to the liberation of sub-Saharan Africa from colonialism.
Western Praise
Ghana is such a teacher’s pet in the international arena. As a relatively small country, it has a considerable voice on the African continent. With this, a lot of western leaders truly regard the country as the gateway to Africa. Win Ghana over and maybe 10 or 20 more might follow. While foreign governments gloat over Ghana, they paint the picture of perfection that entices others.
Elections
In recent times, the country has had back to back elections that have seen power change hands. Ghana has had its fair share of coup d’etats that could make the country unattractive for international visitors.
However, the recent back to back elections have helped us to repair the damage and get back into the good spotlight.
The Obama visit
The 2009 Obama visit to Ghana was historic on many fronts. He was the first-ever African American President of the United States, and then for his first-time visit to Africa as President, he chose to visit Ghana first and he did it in his first term in office. Most American President’s visited when they were nearing the end of their second (last) term in office.
His visit helped boost tourism to the country and made a lot more people aware of Ghana. The Year of Return also did its job and the recent alignment with the Black Lives Matter movement has certainly been a plus for Ghana.
Celebration Of Ghanaian Infrastructure
Ghana has infrastructure challenges, however, it doesn’t mean that there is none and/or it isn’t working on improving and adding new ones.
A recent BBC Pidgin post about the country’s ongoing US$21.5 billion rail infrastructure project was enough to get people to question their own country and hail Ghana.
While Ghana definitely has some pluses than most African countries – who is counting – it certainly has its own challenges.
One thing is for sure though – it is definitely not the utopia it is meant to be in the very nice international public relations efforts.
Source: Kuulpeeps.com
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