Fall of the Wall: celebrating at minimal expense

East Germans earned their freedom with the collapse of the 96-mile concrete barrier

The fall of the Berlin wall meant a big deal not just to the East Germans who earned their freedom with the collapse of the 96-mile concrete barrier. It also meant a big deal for the rest of the world. The iron curtain came down with the wall, marking the beginning of the end of the cold war and the eventual collapse of communism.

So the fall of the Berlin wall meant a lot for the world at large. That's why several world leaders – the most important ones or their representatives – gathered in the German capital to commemorate it as a remarkable milestone in world history.

And, boy, did the Germans put up a good show? I think they did.

I watched the event on international news channels and it was so impressive. There were 'angels' (actors, of course) landing on rooftops. The fireworks were stunning and the enactment of the domino-effect was poignant. It was nothing like the wishy-washy celebrations Charles Wereko-Brobby and his ilk sold us when we were marking Ghana's fiftieth independence anniversary.

And, come to think of it, the German taxpayer is not going to be forced to fork out 50 million dollars to pay for the stunning celebrations I've just seen on CNN. Maybe the Germans do not know how to throw a big party. They are too uptight and, maybe, they know that the best way to use their money is not to throw a party – but give some to poor countries like ours whose leaders do not know how to make good use of the little they have. That's why they couldn't afford a big, expensive party to commemorate an event so significant in the history of mankind.

Ours was less significant and yet, we had to break the bank to throw a party. And all of that did not get us even a tenth of the time the Germans have had under the global spotlight in the last few days. I wonder what Wereko-Brobby, John Kufuor and Kwadwo Mpiani will say about that.

Credit: Ato Kwamena Dadzie(www.atokd.com)