How Large Are The Ears Of Flagstaff House?

Shatta Wale

The current Flagstaff House is revolutionizing the office. It looks like the presently occupants of the Flagstaff House has a more listening ears and a human face than the previous ones.

Who ever thought that a tweet not from the US president Donald Trump (The Twitter General) but a Ghanaian artiste could open the doors of the presidency?

Christianborg Castle, sitting at the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Guinea, had people of diverse backgrounds, class and stature visited her, I observed.

Serena Jameka Williams an American professional tennis player was at the power house during Kufuor’s presidency.

In like manner, the Jubilee House now the Flagstaff House (restoration of its former name in the 1960’s) received dignitaries, emissaries, traditional rulers and probably some or a group of artistes from the art and entertainment industry. But not a birthday tweet!

On Wednesday 1 November 2017 the Flagstaff House played host to Shatta Wale, the man who casts himself as Ghana’s dancehall king. The musician might’ve treated his tweet as a joke. But the man whose ears are as large as a barge at the presidency took him serious.

Certainly this isn’t the kind of messages that get presidents perhaps the world over to wake up from their cozy beds. There are more pressing issues they’ve to attend to. Often they get themselves preoccupied with macro and micro economic issues and many more.

In April this year this Flagstaff House hosted three powerful guests—the three Johns and three former heads of state. It was historic-- first of its kind in the Fourth Republic possibly first in Ghana’s political history. This was during president Akufo-Addo’s first 100 days in office.

Nonetheless all hasn’t been smooth or rosy for this presidency. It’s had its ups and downs. This Flagstaff House in the early days of its assumption into power had one of its militant groups—The Invisible allegedly manhandled a police officer in the line of duty at the presidency.

So why did the president respond Shatta’s tweet?

Maybe it wasn’t the tweet. It seemed to be a payback time according to this writer. Did you hear the president make this remark...”At the campaign you were right there on our face. Bawumia (referring to the singer as his vice prez) is coming to speak, you were very present.”

The president’s comment was spontaneously greeted with a rapturous laughter!

His love for the musician was noticeable. Apparently the young man had washed his hands well. Therefore, he (Shatta) could dine with the elders.

“..I wanted a Land Cruiser. But I’ve a small memento from the presidency,” said the president to Shatta Wale.

Again, there was a spur-of-the-moment laughter.
And the entire venue had been lit up with a flame of smiles.

It all began with a request from the dancehall artiste on Twitter on October 13 to the president. Shatta Wale asked him, “Your Excellency, Tuesday is my birthday...What are you giving me…@NAkufoAddo?”

To his surprise, Mr. Akufo-Addo responded to the tweet, saying “Happy birthday @shattawalegh! You for come visit me for Flagstaff House o!”

The president’s response, which was in pidgin, suddenly became talk of the town, attracting an overwhelming number of views and comments, which some people claimed had never been recorded in the history of the nation.

When the day finally arrived on Wednesday Shatta went to meet the president in the company of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the EIB Group – Bola Ray – and a few friends. But, Shatta’s wish to receive a vehicle from the president as a birthday gift did not come true.

Instead, the president presented him with a memento, designed with the Coat of Arms – the symbol of authority of the nation. He commended Shatta for his philanthropic work and urged him to continue, after a few jokes and laughter that depicted a high level of cordiality.

Shatta, on his part, thanked the president for the invitation and urged him to support the music industry. He said: 'musicians like me and Stonebwoy can be music ambassadors for the country and boost the image of Ghana on the international scene. This is because music is a business which can be a lifeline to many youth."

The singer added that his life story is similar to that of the president.

"People did not expect me to make it just like some Ghanaians did not expect Nana to make it to the presidency," he pointed out.

Later in a tweet, President Akufo-Addo said, “The ‘Dancehall King,’ @shattawalegh, was at the Presidency this afternoon to pay me a visit, after my invitation to him, on his birthday.”

Shatta also tweeted, “I finally met my President @NAkufoAddo… Thank you for the gift…I love it, ago put am for my new house …God bless SM, God bless Gh.”