Ghana goes ga-ga for Obama
Posted: Thursday, July 09, 2009 1:20 PM
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On Assignment
By Anthony Galloway, NBC Nightly News Producer
ACCRA, Ghana – The last stop on President Barack Obama’s week-long trip may prove to be his most historic and newsworthy. Just one day before Obama arrives in Ghana, the significance of his trip is the topic of conversation among most Ghanaians.
In this country, even though Obama’s father hailed from Kenya, the president is considered “from the soil,” a man with an African bloodline, who is now returning home as leader of the free world.
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| Luc Gnago / Reuters |
| A street vendor sells American and Ghanaian flags along a street in Accra on Wednesday. |
But even as Ghana waits expectantly, many here are wondering why Obama chose this country for his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa
“Part of the reason is because Ghana has now undergone a couple of successful elections in which power was transferred peacefully, even a very close election,” Obama said in an interview last week with reporters for the news website allAfrica.com.
“Countries that are governed well, that are stable, where the leadership recognizes that they are accountable to the people and that institutions are stronger than any one person have a track record of producing results for the people. And we want to highlight that," said Obama.
Asked if he would like to see a lot more countries like Ghana in Africa, the president replied, “Absolutely.”
‘Does Ghana know what it wants from America?’
If you turn on the radio or television here, you don’t have to wait long to find news presenters discussing Obama’s visit. And despite general African excitement, many ask if there is a stronger reason – of strategic importance – that moves beyond the public relations of the first African-American president’s visit to so-called black Africa.
Last year a huge reserve of oil was discovered off Ghana’s coast. It is anticipated that pumping will begin in 2010 and may generate between one and three billion dollars annually for the Ghanaian government.
There is also a gas pipeline, more than 400 miles long stretching from Nigeria to Ghana, 59-percent owned by U.S.-based Chevron.
“The Americans know what they want from Ghana. But does Ghana know what it wants from America?” Asare Otchere-Darko, executive director of the Accra think tank Danquah Institute asked in a recent editorial in the Ghanaian Chronicle. “The question is: has the Ghanaian government taken a considered, sober decision on the price to be paid and the prize to be gained for being considered as the serene oasis at the heart of the ‘New Gulf’?”
Otchere-Darko argued that the United States’ interests in Ghana go beyond oil, to include a potential regional military command “with a home port situated on the African continent to protect their interests. West Africa is its natural home.”
In his recent interview, Obama confirmed the overall importance of Ghana and the continent as a whole, but did not specifically reference oil or a revised military command structure.
“There are strategic, national security, economic, environmental reasons why we think this region is important,” the president said. “Africa is directly connected to our entire foreign policy approach.”
Ghana is 'geting it right’
But for those who say oil is a primary reason for Obama’s visit to Ghana, the country’s deputy minister of tourism said dissenters should not be so cynical.
“You cannot rule that out,” Deputy Minister Kwabena Akyeampong told NBC News’ Mara Schiavocampo this week during an interview at Cape Coast Castle, a former departure point for millions of Africans who were sent to the Americas as part of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
“Of course everyone knows that the U.S. always has interests where they can find some of these things. But I look at the broader picture. I think it is genuine when you want to meet someone because they are doing something right. Ghana is getting it right and I think that is the main thing.”
As workers in Accra put the finishing touches on a city eager for the American president’s arrival on Friday, most Ghanaians were preparing to celebrate and revel in the two-day “homecoming” of one of their own. They hope his memories will be longstanding and his nation’s policies mutually beneficial.
Read more about Obama's historic trip on TheGrio.com
