Ghana 2008 is hereAll hands on deck

The lyrics of Robert Nesta Marley's track on his “Uprising album“ (Five days to go, waiting for the next day, four days to go, waiting for… everyday is work.”) echoes the sentiments of Ghanaians as the soccer showpiece draws closer.

Exactly ten days from today, Ghana will host Africa and the rest of the World for the 26th edition of Africa Nations Cup and it behooves on us as citizens of this land to contribute our quota in diverse ways to make the competition a huge success.

Until recently, most people including myself questioned the low profile publicity by the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) taking into account the magnitude of the forthcoming competition.

However, revelations from the LOC indicate that the real situation on the ground is that the LOC is financially handicapped, hence the not-too-impressive publicity for the competition.

That notwithstanding, the LOC with the little resources at its disposal has managed to keep the dream of hosting a successful tournament on course.

Already, the atmosphere is getting charged as the competition draw nigh, and to borrow the slogan of MTN, “everywhere you go” you hear CAN 2008 taking centre stage in people's conversations.

The inundation of shirts designed in national colours and paraphernalia on the market are clear indications that the hour is near.

We can all contribute in one way or the other to realize a dream of hosting a memorable tournament which will serve as reference point for future competitions.

Finance, we all know accelerate every positive trend and if the hosting of a successful tournament will come to pass, then the stakeholders must make resources available to the LOC to finish hard.

I was glad when I heard the captain of the Black Stars Stephen Appiah saying on Happy FM that he calls his mates regularly to check on how they are faring in camp.

For me, that alone is enough contribution from the skipper to ensure that the dream of crowning our efforts with the ultimate becomes a reality.

The playing body should approach all their games with tenacity of purpose by going the extra mile to bring honour to themselves and the nation at the end of the day.

The media have performed creditably so far by way of publicity , but can do more in our bid to hosting a successful tournament.

The duty of tidying up our surroundings during the tournament and beyond should not be reserved for Zoomlion and other waste management companies.

All must get involved to fight filth by ensuring that we do not litter our surroundings and I think this is where the Radio and TV must offer a shoulder by spending time to educate the public as to how to manage waste.
Corporate bodies as Gold Fields Ghana Limited (Tarkwa, Damang), Stanbic Bank, MTN, Guinness, Pepsi Cola Company, among others, have contributed in diverse ways towards the competition.