African Journalists Buzz Around European Politicians Like Flies, But European Media Never Provides Better Coverage Of African Leaders In Europe

When European and American leaders travel to Africa, practically all of the African media will publish articles about the trip, but when an African leader travels to either Europe or America, only one or two articles, and maybe none at all, will be published. Does that imply that among world leaders, African leaders are the least regarded?

It is bad for both African leaders and Africans as a whole if the Belgian media never properly covers African politicians, particularly Ghanaian leaders. It is no secret that Belgium has some animosity toward Ghana due to Kwame Nkrumah's role in assisting the killed Patrice Lumumba, the Congo's first prime minister, in achieving the nation's independence from Belgium in 1960. Belgium has been unable to assign Ghana an embassy because of the ongoing resentment. Before acquiring a visa for Belgium, Ghanaians must travel to Ivory Coast.

I made the choice to write this essay almost a year ago, but I put it off until I was satisfied with my research and had enough time. The president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, has made countless trips to Europe. The French, British, and American media might not find it fascinating to report on the arrival of the Ghanaian president, but what about the Belgian media?

On the lawn of Marlborough House in London, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson (center) speaks with President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana (right) and Mr. KJ Holyoake, Prime Minister of New Zealand, as the Commonwealth Prime Minister's conference gets underway. Photo credit: Press Association Images/PA Archive

Belgium hasn't been so friendly with Ghana and has denied the country its embassy in Accra, as a result of the first prime minister of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah's efforts to free several African nations, especially Congo, from the brutal grip of colonialism.

The Ghanaian president, Nana Akufu Addo, left Ghana on June 19, 2022, on a two-day official visit to Rwanda and Belgium. His first stop was Brussels, where he spoke at the 15th European Development Days Forum along with other leaders. I don't believe any Ghanaian media outlet would fail to cover the event if European leaders held such a gathering there.

However, despite the fact that Nana AKUFO-ADDO meets Charles Michel, the former prime minister of Belgium and current president of the European Council, on June 21, 2022, in Brussels, I learned that no Belgian media had reported the Ghanaian leader's visit there. The only article I could locate using a Google search after conducting all the necessary research was on the European Council of the European Union website, under the heading "Charles MICHEL, President of the European Council, meets Nana AKUFO-ADDO, President of Ghana, on June 21, 2022, in Brussels," with no article g below the heading, (reference: https://newsroom.consilium.europa.eu/events/20220620-president-michel-meets-president-of-ghana.)

I did the translation for both the French and Dutch-Netherlands versions of "Charles MICHEL, President of the European Council, meets Nana AKUFO-ADDO, President of Ghana" (Charles MICHEL, Président du Conseil européen, rencontre Nana AKUFO-ADDO, Présidente du Ghana), as well as " (Charles MICHEL, voorzitter van de Europese Raad, ontmoet Nana AKUFO-ADDO, president van Ghana,) and found no publications as well.

The Brussels Times, Gazet Van Antwerpen, Het Nieuwsblad, De Standaard, De Morgen, Ed Tijd, and a host of other Belgian newspapers, all failed to print any articles about Akufo Addo's visit to Brussels. As I previously mentioned, I have been researching this topic on African politicians in general for some time. When they travel to Europe, they never receive better press, but when European and American leaders are in Africa, the African media pursues them like honey attracts flies.

No European media, not even Belgian media, reported on Akufo Addo's visit apart from the Ghanaian media, including Ghanaweb, which broke the news about the Ghanaian president's departure. The idea that anything like that has an adverse effect on African leaders and Africans in general, implying that we are not humans of great importance to the developed world, upsets me more than anything.

It's likely that Ghanaians in both Africa and the Diaspora won't believe me or think I'm exaggerating. In order to find further information or any publications on the visit of the Ghanaian leader to Brussels, Belgium, users could attempt search engines other than Google, such as Yahoo, Bing, AOL, or Duckduckgo. After that, readers would probably understand how serious I am about writing and how important everything is to me.

I've written a number of articles regarding the disregard that leaders of wealthy countries have for African leaders and have also argued that the reason they act as though they do is due to the continent's abundant mineral resources. Despite the fact that without Africa, especially Europe, the former Western nations that conquered Africa, today wouldn't be as wealthy, they continue to act as though Africa doesn't matter at all to them.

The Western and US media have not only let Africa down, but they have also misled and duped the whole African continent. I once said that if I hadn't been in Europe, I wouldn't have known that reputable news organizations like the BBC, CNN, and others could report on or pay their journalists to produce bogus health articles about medical malpractice in Africa.

They blame bats for a number of man-made illnesses in Africa and refer to others, such as nodding syndrome, as "strange diseases." I now have extensive knowledge about actual diseases and man-made or biological weapons, thanks to the priceless books and medical materials that the late Dutch scientist and micro-surgeon, Johan van Dongen and the German doctor Wolff Geisler gave to me.

This piece is not intended to instruct African leaders on what to do, but it should at the very least serve as a reminder that they are also people who deserve respect, just like all other leaders. As technology develops, the world is changing quickly, so they must adapt as well. Additionally, African journalists shouldn't give the impression that they are cheap by running after the leaders of these rich countries when they are in Africa.