Ghana and La Côte d'Ivoire To Shame Okoampa & His Owners?

The news, this Friday, 07 May 2010, Cote d'Ivoire Marks 50 Yrs, by Daily Guide), which contains the hope that Ghana and La Côte d'Ivoire, our immediate neighbour to the west, are doing everything possible to maintain very cordial relations is most welcome indeed. Not long ago, it was even feared that the two sister nations could be going to war over their dispute over their sea-border which incidentally is rich with high-quality crude, light and low in sulphur, easily processed into gasoline.. otherwise known as the black gold. I thus read with a certain sense of pride in the Africans' ability to reason for themselves and opt for peace and friendship rather than conflicts and wars!

Not long ago, I read article after article, the dismal prognosis of the "curse" of the oil on the peace and stability of the state. One such pertinent point that kept me worried was raised by Mr Brown Guure:

"Reports that our western neighbour Ivory Coast is said to have laid claims before the UN to portions of our oil find in the deep waters of the Western Region is worrisome to every Ghanaian everywhere. That our government is now rushing a bill through parliament to establish the Ghana Boundary Commission to undertake negotiations with the Ivory Coast to determine and demarcate Ghana's land boundaries and de-limit Ghana's maritime boundaries, even more worrying. Indeed it is an intriguing paradox that given all the frenetic activity of government, policy initiatives, draft bills and large-scale symposiums and seminars on 'oil and gas' since mid 2007, the prospects of a neighbour claiming parts of our continental shelf, and for that matter securing the oil fields has never been considered. That government is surprised by the Ivoirians' move is itself surprising therefore. This is a classic failure by our intelligence services and like the Japanese attack on the United States of America in 1941, this may well turn out to be our 'Pearl Harbour'" (See: "The Ivoirians' Claim: A Classic Case Of Intelligence Failure.", by Guure, Brown, Ghanaweb Feature Article of Friday, 12 March 2010.)

So the news that, "As part of activities to commemorate 50 years of independence of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, its embassy in Accra has outlined a series of activities to mark the occasion." The story began and added, "Some of the activities outlined include a flag-raising ceremony, a joint Côte d'Ivoire/Ghana Industrial Trade Fair, a forum on sustainable cocoa economy, investment conference as well as a musical concert where international artistes from both countries would perform..." (See Cote d'Ivoire Marks 50 Yrs, By Daily Guide - Daily Guide) is certainly welcome!

However, I definitely know a Ghanaian who is not happy for the simple reason that all appears to be well between Ghana and La Côte d'Ivoire! I shall allow Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City, a Governing Board Member of the Accra-based "STRICTLY" Danquah Institute ("S" DI), the "pathetically pro-Western" unthinking tank, and the author of a series of crazy feature articles and 21 of the most stupid books on Africa and about Africans since Jacobus Capiteine (AD 1747), including “Ghanaian Politics Today” (Atumpan Publications/Lulu.com, 2008), to speak for himself on such a delicate matter.

Okoampa begins an article surreptitiously titled "Who Are These “Parliamentarian Drivers”? with a shocker: "I am glad that, finally, the Ivorians are beginning to assert their right of access and enjoyment of Ghana's purportedly new-found oil wealth... It also didn't quite make a lot of sense to me that an oil find that lay so dangerously close to Ghana's border with Côte d'Ivoire would also have been so [godlessly] uncharitable as to neatly parcel itself out for the exclusive benefit and enjoyment of Ghanaians while the war-seasoned Ivorians continued to languish in penury." - "Who Are These “Parliamentarian Drivers”? By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., Feature Article of Tuesday, 16 March 2010.

Okoampa continues:
"What is also wickedly fascinating is the sudden fit of alarm that seems to have gripped the hitherto light-headed Ghanaians. All of an auspicious sudden, it is beginning to home-in to these soft-headed, happy-go-lucky and good-natured “Niggers” that premature gloating over a pure gift of nature may yet turn out to be too good to be true. It was also rather fitfully amusing that some Ghanaians should already begin to be angrily chary of the Ivorians; and, indeed, the irony of it all is that these “Angernistas” are largely what one may aptly term as diehard “Nkrumacrats,” the fanatical disciples of modern Ghana's first postcolonial premier. Dear reader, by now, it ought to be obvious to you what “Sremu Sei Nana” (The King of the Savannah's Grandson) is getting at. And, of course, it is the stark fact that where “Black Gold” is concerned, pan-Africanism is only the dream of a hopeless lunatic."

As I wrote in a previous article, "Okoampa continues by making demeaning remarks about his fellow countrymen. To use such language indicates comtempt for Ghanaian men and women. Why would any Ghanaian who consider his country's vital interests so dispensable, still present himself as a member of a "Think Tank" and expect respect from his fellow Ghanaians? What does it mean if this man presents Nana Akufo Addo as his favourite candidate, and Akufo Addo approves of this association with him? Is Akuffo Addo telling us that the Danquah Institute "think tank" is fast becoming nothing but a nest of politically virulent and toxic ideas contempt for the Ghanaian people?" (See: Is It Not Time For Akuffo Addo To Distance Himself From The Danquah Institute Altogether?).

In fact, I was taken aback so much so that I forgot about the author and began to wonder and wander about what would make a fellow human being hate his own people to such an extent that such a scenario of war with what he calls "the war-seasoned Ivorians"? I read this thinly-veiled wish for a war over oil between Ghana and the Ivory Coast over our precious black gold several times, but I could not put my finger at the source of his anger and hatred. Out of frustration, I turned out to his main US collaborator, a self-appointed voice of "Black Conservatives" who faithfully transmits each nonsense from Okoampa on his blog for Americans to consume, to see if they at least, he offered any explanations to this strange behaviour. I was not disappointed. The answer was in the introductory sentence:

"Oil Reserves Have Been Discovered Offshore In Ghana. What Next? Bookerista Perspectives

The Ivory Coast is claiming a portion of Ghana's offshore oil region. The center-right board member of the Danquah Institute (Ghana) and English professor in USA is glad that the Ivory Coast is making a claim because it undermines the Ghanaian center-left's claims of Pan-Africanism: "I am glad that, finally, the Ivorians are beginning to assert their right of access and enjoyment of Ghana's purportedly new-found oil wealth. Perusing [center-left] President John Mills' second and latest 'State of the Nation Address' the other day, I couldn't help but wonder aloud why Ghanaians seem to be so morbidly afflicted with this kind of hysteria whereby the mere announcement of a potential windfall is deafeningly celebrated even while such 'natural' largesse squarely remains on the prospector's drawing board..." (emphasis mine, of course). (Source: see: Bookerising.net, news site for black moderates and black conservatives.)

I have already dealt with him squarely here, so I shall now focus my attention on helping to consolidate the peace that is now reigning between Ghana and La Côte d'Ivoire. The second part of the article is therefore to ask both governments to focus more on the substance than the form. We need a clear border agreement, which we still do not have. As a South African friend of mine once said: "Trust is good, but control is necessary!" I do not see much use of these pomp and pageantry which dissipate into petty squabbles that only make our enemies happy. We must not forget that before the La Côte d'Ivoire fêted the U-20 Black Satellites, with a flamboyant presidential reception at the Ivorian capital for winning the World Cup to harness positive public opinion before they petitioned the United Nations to intervene without even any attempt to first sort it out as brothers and sisters among ourselves first and foremost and in a most amicable of manners possible.

I salute President Atta-Mills for his diplomatic dexterity to steer our Ivorian friends into a negotiating table to settle this question once and for all. We must not forget that the Ivorians could have done that in the first place, rather than going straight to the United Nations. My own bad experience from the other fanfair and nightmarish dreams of all hell breaking loose at our western frontiers just because of oil and the stupid laughter of Kwame Okoampa in the background makes me leave no stone unturned here in my search for a peaceful, durable, clear, just, stable and friendly frontier with our Ivorian neighbours. If they are really serious, I would like to see the final agreement to seal a real deal of friendship, peace and love between brothers and sisters.

La Côte d'Ivoire is celebrating the golden jubilee come August 7th, 2010. This is Friday the seventh day of May. We have exactly three good months ahead of us to seal a deal before the celebrations begin! I want to see all this political goodwill expressed clearly and transparently in a deal within these three months! Whilst all well-meaning Ivorians and Ghanaians must join in this spirit of camaraderie we must all insist on concrete issues before the fanfares, and no dilly-dallying to fob off our disgrace with a tale! O sons and daughters of Africa, Arise for PEACE!!! What is wrong with the intentions of the Pan-Africanists? Listen to Nkrumah here and judge for yourself, dear reader:

“We in Africa who are pressing now for unity are deeply conscious of the validity of our purpose. We need the strength of our combined numbers and resources to protect ourselves from the very positive dangers of returning to colonialism in disguised forms. We need it to combat the entrenched forces dividing our continent and still holding back millions of our brothers. We need it to secure total African liberation. We need it to carry forward our construction of a socio-economic system that will support the great mass of our steadily rising population at levels of life which will compare with those in the most advanced countries” - Kwame Nkrumah, "Africa Must Unite!", 1960.

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!! Cheers! – Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro

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