GhanaBlogging.com » Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

« Expand/Collapse

Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive (26 unread)

November 26, 2009
17:29
Are you NPP, NDC or Ghanaian?
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

divdiva href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/Sw68zfVE3UI/AAAAAAAAAK4/TUdWdCvSmOw/s1600/GH+Flag+2.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408467795287792962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 172px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 188px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/Sw68zfVE3UI/AAAAAAAAAK4/TUdWdCvSmOw/s200/GH+Flag+2.jpg" border="0" //aYes I am Ghanaian and I am advocating ruthless patriotism. Country First! Long Live Ghana! National Interest! God bless our homeland Ghana!br /br /In my not-so-humble opinion the only reason anyone will join or associate themselves with any of these two political parties is that they are either benefiting directly from the association or they are mildly tribalistic and subscribe to or share the tribal undertones that define these political parties. Then there’s the “I hate (Rawlings/ Kuffour/Mills/Akuffo Addo)” crowd. If that describes you, I understand your situation.br /a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/Sw7BVKF2zoI/AAAAAAAAALQ/D134KBPhUVg/s1600/NDC+Flag.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408472771748875906" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 162px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 120px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/Sw7BVKF2zoI/AAAAAAAAALQ/D134KBPhUVg/s200/NDC+Flag.jpg" border="0" //abr /Otherwise, I believe every fair minded citizen, who cares about the future of Ghana, should strive for objectivity in judging the actions of our leaders with a bias towards the long term interest of the country.br /br //divdivbr //divdivbr //divdiva href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/Sw7Ank6O0eI/AAAAAAAAALI/hTjehLj-45U/s1600/NPP+Flag.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408471988673892834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 162px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 96px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/Sw7Ank6O0eI/AAAAAAAAALI/hTjehLj-45U/s200/NPP+Flag.jpg" border="0" //a/divdivIn Western society politics is generally ideologically divided into Right Wing and Left Wing. In Ghana, NPP claims to be the right wing free market party whereas the NDC claims to be the left wing socialist democrat party. As for the CPP/Nkrumahist ideology the least said the better. /div/divdiv /divdivNkrumahism was a good idea in the 50’s but that ship has sailed – even communist China is a pseudo capitalism state. None of these parties really practice any of their supposed ideologies because there’s hardly a market economy in Ghana let alone a free market economy. On the other hand we are too poor to be socialists – in a true socialist economy the state owns and control assets and we hardly own anything anymore.br /br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/Sw7CCAkY27I/AAAAAAAAALY/M-dbbwoYSr0/s1600/CPP+Flag.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408473542286695346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 153px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/Sw7CCAkY27I/AAAAAAAAALY/M-dbbwoYSr0/s200/CPP+Flag.jpg" border="0" //aOur current station in life as a country demands that more of our citizens are fiercely pro-Ghana and nothing more. Of course we all have to vote for a political party during elections but we can’t let these political divides cloud our judgment of what is good for Ghana. /divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-529763841814402120?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
November 23, 2009
22:25
Great Ice Cream in Osu - Arlecchino
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SwsOGDL9qpI/AAAAAAAAAKY/nk9T7402Fio/s1600/Ice+Cream+GH.JPG"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407431274685901458" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SwsOGDL9qpI/AAAAAAAAAKY/nk9T7402Fio/s320/Ice+Cream+GH.JPG" border="0" //abr /divimg id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407430362871266994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SwsNQ-aafrI/AAAAAAAAAKA/56JK7T3XKaQ/s320/Ice+Cream+GH+2.JPG" border="0" /br /br /divbr /br //divbr /div/divbr /div/divbr /div/divbr /div/divbr /div/divbr /div/divbr /div/divbr /div/divbr /div/divbr /div/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdivI'm not sure when this place opened but a friend told me about it when I was in Ghana 2 weeks ago. It's located on Oxford Street in Osu after Papaye! I had scoops of pistaccio and coffee -mmmm yummy, yummy in my tummy! LOL. Check it out. /div/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-84458847899048077?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
September 01, 2009
3:07
The Exodus Project
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SpyQ097pVbI/AAAAAAAAAJw/4mdcU5_fivY/s1600-h/brain.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376331294825862578" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 238px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 191px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SpyQ097pVbI/AAAAAAAAAJw/4mdcU5_fivY/s320/brain.jpg" border="0" //a divdivIn the last few months a number of my friends have moved back home to Ghana from Europe and the US. This has been called a “brain gain” in certain circles but you had to believe there was a “brain drain” to start with. I’ve never really bought into the whole idea of the “brain drain”. Sure, there are exceptions. Consider the case of Ghanaian medical doctors where statistics show that 5 years after medical school 85% of our medical doctors leave Ghana or the other statistics that show there are more Ghanaian tax-payer trained doctors in New York alone than in all of Ghana. These are not people you can replace with ordinary people on the streets.br /br /Have you ever wondered why only African countries have a “brain drain” problem? Me too! I believe some development economist woke up one day and decided that “these Africans are so poor because all their smart people have left the continent”. Just think about this scenario, assuming New York City and California (America’s best and brightest) ceased to exist. Long before the dust settles another Wall Street will rise in Omaha, Nebraska, another Silicon Valley will rise in the mountains of Butte, Montana and Hazlehurst, Georgia will the new Hollywood. So don’t tell me nothin’ about no “brain drain”. We are poor because we haven’t figured out progressive ways to run our lives. But I digressJ!br /br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SpyQWABqxMI/AAAAAAAAAJg/--XpDG_9Dos/s1600-h/luggage.gif"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376330762812048578" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 194px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 171px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SpyQWABqxMI/AAAAAAAAAJg/--XpDG_9Dos/s320/luggage.gif" border="0" //aIn the past people moved back to Ghana for seemingly altruistic reasons to “help Ghana develop”. They will make history by helping make Ghana the Sweden of sub-Saharan Africa. Instead, they end up in government positions and get rich overnight.br /br /Needless to say, the tides are turning and I am excited about this exodus of young Ghanaians from the US and Europe back to Ghana. For the first time in our lifetime the almost-depression-recession has made Europe and the US seem less of a sure and stable place to make a living. Tangible recovery in the economic situation in the west is not visible for another 5-10 years. For all these people and many more who are packing their bags as we speak, moving back to Ghana has become an attractive option. Quality of life in Ghana is unparalleled, add the prospects of making decent money working in the private sector, starting a business, or manning the family fortunes. There’s true upside in Ghana.br /br /In the next few months I’ll profile some of these people under “The Exodus Project” title. Watch out for it! /div/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-8361264669987975661?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
August 14, 2009
16:12
Post-Racial America has Ghana in it
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SoWPKFYIsNI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/H4PYXqQXvNA/s1600-h/sam-and-ruby.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369855534114058450" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 289px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 201px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SoWPKFYIsNI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/H4PYXqQXvNA/s320/sam-and-ruby.jpg" border="0" //aFirst it was Barack Obama, now it's Ruby amp; Sam. Somehow, this post-racial America (like most things great and progressive) had to have Ghana in it :) div/divbr /divRuby Amanfu was born in Ghana and moved to Nashville with her family when she was 3. Sam Brooker grew up in Green Bay, Wisc., and answered Music City’s siren call after finishing college. They each spent years pursuing promising solo careers (Amanfu had a hit single, “Sugah,” on the U.K. pop charts in 2003) before becoming an official duo in 2005/divbr /div/divdivTheir music was featured in the movie "The Secret Life of Bees" starring Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, and Jennifer Hudson. /divbr /div/divdivThey've been interviewed by several news organizations. Check out their interview on a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/tellmemore/2009/08/meet_sam_ruby.html"NPR/a.br /br /divCheck out their official website a href="http://www.samandrubymusic.com/"http://www.samandrubymusic.com//a/divdivem/em/divdivemPhoto from: The Tennessean/em/div/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-1087160635963488349?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
August 03, 2009
19:02
"Blue Kiosk" Economics
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/Snc0tjNq1wI/AAAAAAAAAJI/ouk5IUOdwq4/s1600-h/Blue+Kiosk.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365815438186567426" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 262px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 223px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/Snc0tjNq1wI/AAAAAAAAAJI/ouk5IUOdwq4/s320/Blue+Kiosk.jpg" border="0" //aAccording to US Small Business Administration approximately 80% of all US businesses are small businesses. It goes without saying that the largest economy in the world (although it’s wobbly right now) is driven largely by the small ice cream shops, the mom and pop retail stores, the little Chinese restaurants, the soul food restaurants, and the small start-ups in Silicon Valley etc.br /br /It is safe to assume that the Ghanaian equivalent of a small business is your typical “Blue Kiosk” or “Trader”. They buy and sell. In most neighborhoods the Blue Kiosk sells Milo, Milk, groundnuts, Akpeteshie etc.br /br /Have you noticed that most small businesses in Ghana think in terms of Revenue and not Profit Margins? Let me explain:br /br /Assume a Blue Kiosk owners buys “Ideal Milk” from a wholesaler for 2.00 GHC each. She sells it at a retail price of 2.20 GHC. I am convinced that the typical Blue Kiosk owner in Ghana thinks she just made 2.20 GHC all her personal expenses for the week will be paid for with this money.br /br /In fact she only made 0.20 GHC (20 Pesewas). It’s even less than 0.20 GHC when you consider the time value of money i.e. the time between buying from the wholesaler and when she finally sells the product. If Blue Kiosk Owner is to live on 1.00 GHC per day she has to sell 5 tins of “Ideal Milk” everyday. To make 2.20 GHC she has to sell 11 tins of “Ideal Milk”.br /br /Unfortunately, not only blue kiosk owners think like this. It runs through our culture. It’s also the building contract who gets a contract and the first thing he buys is a Mercedes Benz. If he really considered his financial obligation i.e. kids school fees, electricity and water bills, 30% bank interest rates, living expenses etc Mr. Contractor will quickly realize that not only can he not afford a Mercedes Benz he can’t afford a car at all. Have you ever wondered what kind of profit margins the street vendors make? Me too. Why are they still there on the streets when there are so many other business opportunities that have better profit margins? The answer is simple. When they sell an apple they can see cash in hand.br /br /I look forward to the day when a University of Ghana Business School graduate with a Bsc. Admin (first class) will start a “Blue Kiosk”. Expand to 5 Blue Kiosks take over a whole neighborhood and hopefully become Ghana’s home grown Sam Walton (Wal-Mart) instead of sitting around waiting for an opportunity to work in the bank as a teller. That will be the beginning of a new day in Ghana.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-7994436799671513391?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
July 21, 2009
16:39
Why are we so bad at networking?
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SmXvUvhmjLI/AAAAAAAAAJA/WzU5Mj57MH4/s1600-h/handshake3.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360954071088270514" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 204px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 173px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SmXvUvhmjLI/AAAAAAAAAJA/WzU5Mj57MH4/s320/handshake3.jpg" border="0" //a divHow come when Ghanaian (and African) professional get together it’s mostly to have fun and show off rather than to figure out how we can combine our brains and resources to help each other for a greater good?br /br /I’ve seen it many times. I used to play soccer with a group of mostly Ghanaian and Nigeria professional in a major US city. In that group were lawyers, doctors, bankers etc. Yet nobody mingled and talked about anything progressive. It was mostly showing off who drove the nicest cars to the field (nothing against nice cars).br /br /Recently, a former colleague of mine who moved to Ghana last year to start a company lamented the apathy of her Wesley Girls alumni network in getting her face-time with major corporations in Ghana to grow her business. She started a business that provides conference call numbers to companies where as many as 50 people can join a conference call at a time. Being part of an overachievers group like Wesley Girls Alumni, you would think she’ll land a pot of networking gold. Turns out most of her fellow alumni show up to meetings just to show how well they are doing.br /br /Sometimes, I wish we in Ghana (and Africa) had a little of the Jewish culture in us. For anyone who has had any interaction with the Jewish culture you know the Jewish businessman has a Jewish accountant, a Jewish lawyer, a Jewish dentist, and a Jewish doctor. It turns out helping each other is self preservation. /divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-522529250184802800?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
July 19, 2009
23:06
Giving up on Fufu Light Soup with Goat Meat
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SmOnc4LWhFI/AAAAAAAAAI4/tiPqllDBF5k/s1600-h/food_2.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360312096059196498" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 258px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 192px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SmOnc4LWhFI/AAAAAAAAAI4/tiPqllDBF5k/s320/food_2.jpg" border="0" //a divdivdivNo. Not completely. But, Yes! For as long as I can remember, Fufu and Light Soup with Goat meat has been my favorite food. I’m afraid those days are over. Will I still eat Fufu? Yes periodically (Not more than once a week). Will I still list it as my favorite food? No. Not because I don’t enjoy it anymore. Nooooo! Far from it.br /br /It all started when I went home to Ghana recently. My mom made arguably one of the best gourmet fufu and light soup with goat meat I ever had. I ate and ate and ate, and drunk some soup…a lot of soup. Sweet Jesus! The soup was nice and extra spicy, the goat meat was fresh and the fufu was made with organic cassava, yam, and plantain “sent from heaven” (see Keyshia Cole). This practically wiped out 2 months of going to the gym and biking like Lance Armstrong in the streets of Chicago prior to my trip.br /br /In order to preserve my Anti-Pot Belly policy and for the sake of longevity and “sustainability”, I hereby officially change my favorite food from Fufu and Light Soup with Goat meat to Banku and Grilled Tilapia with hot pepper. As long as I eat a lot more grilled tilapia than Banku I think I’ll be fine in the long run.br /br /What’s your favorite food? Is it “sustainable”?br /br /(Picture from nududu.com)/div/div/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-3983312668390764052?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
July 17, 2009
17:06
What motivates you?
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

I've been getting a lot of interesting questions from people lately. The latest of them is the question: What motivates you? My answer is God, Family, Country, and Money/Influence. Let me explain:br /br /strongGod/strong - Because I believe we are born with different passions and talents (varying degrees of course) for which we will be held accountable. My responsibility in life, I believe, is to search and pursue those talents to the best of my ability. My favorite scripture is John 9:4; " I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work". For me, this requires actively finding those "works" and executing them according to my God-given gifts and abilities.br /br /strongFamily/strong - I realized (sometime last year) that compared to most of my friends I was born into a very communal/socialist family. In my family, helping and feeding others (family or not) is an obligation. What this means, for me, is that being successful enough to take care of myself and my immediate family is not good enough (actually it is considered a failure). You have to be successful enough to help others too. Somehow, it’s a cross that I gladly bear and it motivates me daily.br /br /strongCountry/strong – I love Ghana. I’m not sure what Kwame Nkrumah and his compatriots saw when they were handed the keys to the country on March 6th, 1957 but I believe my generation (by that I mean Gen Xers) who grew up in Ghana saw the raw potential and the possibilities of greatness of our country and it left an indelible mark on many. I know many who are working tirelessly for the opportunity to be in a position to be part of the realization of that potential. I am blessed to be part of this generation of Ghanaians. Watch out, we’re coming!br /br /strongMoney/Influence/strong –It’s how things get done. Need I say more?br /br /So what about you? What motivates you?div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-2748733637074004288?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
July 15, 2009
18:48
Nice Body or Pretty Face?
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

After reading my comparison of "Ghana women" and "Nigerian women" (See My Maiden Voyage to Lagos, Nigeria) a friend of mine had a question:br /br /strongemIf you had to choose between a nice body and a pretty face, which would you pick?/embr //strongbr /Answer:br /In a perfect world,especially in my 20's and 30's I would certainly want a nice body. There's just something magical about a nice female figure. God is a great designer!br /br /In the real world, however, age, "gravity", and "natural expansion" will take a toll on any nice body quicker than a pretty face. So I'll take a pretty face over a nice body.br /br /Which would you (or the men you know) pick?div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-6579972772474611957?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
16:54
What does PhD got to do with it? "Credentialism" and Ghana's Development
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

In the light of the successful change in government after the 2008 elections and Obama’s visit recent to Ghana I get the sense that Ghanaians are ready for the next level. We’ve seen it all, the snail pace, and the slow progress forward with “deliberate speed”, and we want more, faster! The “how” is where we are all stuck.br /br /On my recent trip to Ghana I got the sense that everybody is waiting for something or someone from somewhere (preferably some Western country) to take us to the next level. You often hear “You guys need to come back home and let’s build Ghana”. For me, this suggests that Ghanaians living in Ghana (all 20 million of them) are not up to the task of nation building. That somehow they can’t dream up and build institutions, businesses, processes in a very Ghanaian way. That somehow all tangible progress must of necessity be foreign.br /br /I am convinced that for Ghana to achieve this much desired next level in development we don’t need another “Honorable, Dr. Dr. Engineer, Lawyer, Architect, Economist, Chartered Accountant XYZ Kofi Mensah, MD Msc. M.Eng PHD LLM ACCA”. This is not to say that they don’t have a significant place in Ghana’s development.br /br /What we need is for “Average Citizen Kofi Mensah” to grow his business from Accra to Kumasi, Takoradi, Hohoe, and Tamale. We need the average citizen who makes any product in Ghana to start thinking about markets in Nigeria, Liberia, Chad, Europe, and South America and bring his/her products to par with international standards with fierce urgency. The market woman who sells tomatoes and onions at Makola Market should consider becoming a small grocery chain.br /br /We need every Ghanaian who has at least $1million in liquid cash to commit at least 10% to start or expand a viable locally grown business that provides goods or services in a very Ghanaian way. We also need banks to match these private financial commitments at reasonable interest rates.br /br /Any ideas on what else could be useful?div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-2701062269921781782?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
July 08, 2009
22:10
It’s ok to plan
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

pOn my recent visits to Accra and Lagos I saw enough to make me wonder:br //pulliDo our cultures look down on planning?/liliIs planning seen as a sign of weakness? i.e. not tough enough to deal with the rigors of doing business in Africa?/liliDoes the pressure to make money right now (however small) supersede the possibility of making millions by putting a little more effort into deliberate planning?br //li/ulpIn Accra I got a chance to visit the new hangout spot in Osu called “CitiZen Kofi”. It is obvious the 5 story facility (complete with penthouse view of Accra just off the main Oxford street) was well planned and executed – and guess what, it’s owned by a Ghanaian. /ppFor me it rivals any club/lounge/bar/restaurant you’ll see in New York, Chicago, London or any major western city in term of design, service, menu, ambiance, etc. Obviously it wasn't built with pocket change. /ppIf you are a citizen of Ghana, by the power vested in me as a fellow citizen, consider it a civic duty (if you can afford it) to visit and spend some time (and money) at CitiZen Kofi in Osu. /pdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-4891555893057457757?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
July 06, 2009
15:38
My Maiden Voyage to Lagos, Nigeria
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SlIfi9Ac6pI/AAAAAAAAAIA/1za7l7yxxlA/s1600-h/nigeria_lagos_lg.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355377592249412242" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 263px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 221px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SlIfi9Ac6pI/AAAAAAAAAIA/1za7l7yxxlA/s320/nigeria_lagos_lg.jpg" border="0" //a For me this trip has been a long time coming considering my maternal grandfather is from this country (Lagos and Ibadan).br /br /My flight from Accra to Lagos was quick and uneventful with all the trappings of the increasing interaction between the two countries. I saw an old school mate of mine on the flight who I hadn’t seen in over 10yrs. He is currently the head of corporate communications for the Ghana branch of a Nigerian bank and was heading to Lagos for a meeting of other heads of communication within the bank.br /br /I also saw two teenage “dada ba” Nigerian girls who looked like they went on a day trip to Accra because they were bored or wanted to get away. There were many others who looked like they make that Accra-Lagos trip often –much like a NYC-Washington DC Amtrak station look.br /br /Since the emergence of Sarah Palin in the 2008 Presidential Campaign in the US, the old republican conservative mantra about “government does not have a place in our lives” has come up in one too many debates.br /br /My first inclination driving from the airport in the dark night (with street lights that don’t work) was that anybody who doesn’t believe in government should visit Lagos for a weekend. For the most part it’s “everyone for himself, God for us all”. a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SlIgGys31MI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/bUApLIzwadk/s1600-h/DSC01878.JPG"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355378207958226114" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 247px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 217px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SlIgGys31MI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/bUApLIzwadk/s320/DSC01878.JPG" border="0" //abr /br /I was in Lagos for 4 days and the national power grid NEPA was on for less than 2 hours total. That a nation that has one of the largest natural gas reserves in the entire world cannot provide electricity to its citizens who are willing and able to pay for this service is beyond belief. I saw people driving in Rolls Royces and Range Rovers in the Victoria Island-Lekki Pennisula areas, living in homes that could double as a huge multi-level church building or mosque. I also saw abject poverty in other areas of the mainland (Mile 2 area, Ikeja, etc). The disparity between the ultra-rich and the ordinary man is obscene.br /br /A lot has been said about the differences and similarities between Ghana and Nigeria. I’ll save my comparisons for a more elaborate analysis except the oft compared “Ghana Woman” and “Naija Woman” (see Wo Se Ekyir blog a href="http://maameous.blogspot.com/2008/10/first-impressions-of-lagos-ghanaians.html""First Impressions of Lagos: Ghanaian's Perspective"/a).br /br /In a very general sense I will agree that Nigerian women have prettier faces whereas Ghanaian women have nicer bodies. For some reason, these generalizations do not apply to Ghanaian and Nigerian women in the US. Maybe the US is just the great equalizer as they say or both countries send their “best amp; brightest” to the US (or better still maybe I’m just hedging my options).br /br /a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SlIlJpyrjaI/AAAAAAAAAIg/E_3rPMJS5Gg/s1600-h/DSC01879.JPG"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355383754664414626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 262px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 212px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SlIlJpyrjaI/AAAAAAAAAIg/E_3rPMJS5Gg/s320/DSC01879.JPG" border="0" //abr /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /Other observations, experiences and questions:br /br /p/pulliThe Okada are a lawless bunch (sometimes they just decide to ride their motorcycles against traffic with reckless abandon). However, they provide a crucial means of transportation for the masses. /libr /liSeems to me like there’s no utilitarianism (common good) in the Nigerian psyche. Why is that? /libr /liIf you see a building that looks like it hasn’t been painted since 1950 it’s likely a government building and someone “chopped” the money designated for paint. /libr /liNigerians are fearless business minded people. /libr /liI’ve been in traffic in New York and Los Angeles. There’s nothing like Lagos traffic. Nothing!/libr /br /liNot to sound like a pessimist but I can’t think through a scenario where Nigeria gets back to what we know as “normal” – running water and electricity on demand. Can someone please help me? Under what circumstances does this country return to a place where the ordinary guy gets a fair share?br //liliFor a long time I wondered why a lot of Nigerians living in the Diaspora decide never to go back and live in Nigeria. I understand now. You feel like a drop of water in the ocean. There’s not much 1 person could do to steer a nation of about 150 million in the right direction unless you are the President or something like that. /libr /liI drove in Lagos for 2 days. I should get some kind of certificate I can hang on my wall./li/uldiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-6365544010539984302?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
June 08, 2009
0:23
Hypocrisy, The French, Omar Bongo, and Ghana's Neighbors
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SixpWNzrHXI/AAAAAAAAAH4/NIT0UVsur5I/s1600-h/ghana_map.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344762688166370674" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SixpWNzrHXI/AAAAAAAAAH4/NIT0UVsur5I/s200/ghana_map.jpg" border="0" //aFor a longtime now, I've had issues with the French and their continued manipulation of their former colonies in sub-saharan Africa. Personally, I believe that as colonial masters the French were (and still are) the worst at pillaging their colonies without developing much in terms of human capital and institutions. Then sometime last month I read the following a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8056309.stm"article/a on BBC News website after it was clear Omar Bongo was pratically on his a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8088382.stm"death bed/a:br /br /"French authorities are to investigate the assets of the Gabonese President Omar Bongo, who is accused of misappropriating millions of dollars meant for public services...."br /br /br /"....It is alleged that the volume of real estate owned by Mr Bongo's family in France could not have been purchased with official salaries alone."br /br /"....In 2007 a police investigation into real estate owned by the president and his family in France disclosed 33 properties in Paris and Nice worth an estimated $190 million. And back in 1999, an investigation by the American senate into the private practices of Citibank estimated that the Gabonese president held $130 million in the bank's personal accounts. "br /br /You could have knocked me over with a feather.br /br /Here's the money quote:br /br /"...In a book on the emFrench Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner/em, the investigative journalist Pierre Pean emreveals a number of business deals between Mr Kouchner's private consultancy in the early 2000s and the Gabonese government/em."br /br /br /Question:br /Is it possible for a Black African to own (by conservative estimates) $190 Million worth of Real Estate in France without the knowledge and consent of the French government? Just Real Estate! Not boats and bank accounts etc. Just Real Estate.br /br /divpGabon has a population of about 1.5 million people. Imagine what $320 millon ($190 million + $130 million) could have done for the lives of ordinary Gabonese. /pbr /pConcerns:/ppAs Ghana becomes the "Sweden" of the sub-region I worry that the continuing political situation in our neighboring countries (Togo, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast) will negatively impact our progress. We all saw what happened in Ivory Coast after Houphouët-Boigny. Thanks to French support, Ivory Coast sat under a "pretend" democracy for many years under Houphouët-Boigny. For all intents and purposes Togo is currently the private property of the Gnassingbé Eyadéma family. /p/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-1517578667057231983?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
May 26, 2009
17:13
Top 10 Ghana - Nicest Neighborhoods in Accra
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/ShwpIKUEDCI/AAAAAAAAACY/jksooEjTEVo/s1600-h/Trasacco1.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340188478338763810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 184px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/ShwpIKUEDCI/AAAAAAAAACY/jksooEjTEVo/s400/Trasacco1.jpg" border="0" //abr /ollia href="http://www.trasaccovalley.com/"Trasacco Valley /a/libr /lia href="http://www.airporthills.com/site/index.html"Airport Hills /a/libr /liCantonments /libr /liAirport Residential /libr /liRidge/LaBone /libr /liEast Legon /libr /lia href="http://www.mybuenahomes.com/"Buena Vista (Beach Rd Teshie)/a /libr /liWest Legonbr //liliNorth Dzorwulu /libr /liTema (New Communities) /li/olp/ppAm I missing any?/pdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-1802921120760184528?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
May 12, 2009
14:29
AGORO v. 2.0 - Retooling Ghana Soccer from the Grassroots
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SgnPZC8z-SI/AAAAAAAAACI/TLUqYoaAxv4/s1600-h/GFA.png"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335023262792677666" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 242px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SgnPZC8z-SI/AAAAAAAAACI/TLUqYoaAxv4/s320/GFA.png" border="0" //a divdivdivdivMy recent post on the Top 10 greatest Ghana soccer players of all time got me thinking about how we manage sports and soccer in Ghana and West Africa as a whole. It is a fact that the West African sub-region has produced some of the greatest to ever play the game period. From former greats like George Oppong Weah, Abedi Pele, Tony Yeboah, JJ Okocha, to present day stars like Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, and Emmanuel Adebayor to name a few.br /br /I have colleagues and friends at work who were born and raised in Germany, France, England, etc who would relate their experiences growing up and learning to play soccer in various leagues and school programs with constant oversight from a trained coach from kindergarten until it was clear that they had talents in other endeavors other than soccer.br /br /I compare that to my experience growing up in the “mean streets” of Dzorwulu in the 80’s and I find the one thing missing from my football experience was structure! By that I mean there was no structure to the way football was organized below the professional level. I will bet not much has changed in that regard. Not that I was any good or would have gotten any better with a little coaching. Far from it! Like my colleageues who grew up in Europe I found my talents in other endeavors. Growing up, we used to walk unaccompanied (much to the dismay of our parents) from Dzorwulu to Abelenkpe, “Last Chance”, and “Pig Farm” to play against other 5-10 year olds in those neighborhoods. We didn’t have a coach to direct us on when and how to pass the ball, team defense, diagonal passes etc. Indulge me for a moment as I establish my case:br /br /Question:br /olliHow come West Africans account for a significant percentage of the top players in the professional leagues in Europe but we still haven’t won the World Cup?br //liliHow come Egypt is the current and two-time African Champion (Egypt has won the Africa Cup 5 times in all - more than any other country on the continent) when you can’t name a single Egyptian player who is having a significant impact on the game at the professional level in Europe. /libr /liHow come none of the West African football power houses have a native coach for their senior national team? Name one! Go ahead! I’m waiting. Ghana? Nigeria? Ivory Coast? Togo? Cameroun? Senegal? /li/ola href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SgmM1BeizrI/AAAAAAAAABo/HJHI1ShLLbY/s1600-h/michaelessien01Full.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334950076154564274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 192px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SgmM1BeizrI/AAAAAAAAABo/HJHI1ShLLbY/s320/michaelessien01Full.jpg" border="0" //a pGhana’s style of play has been famously called “Agoro” which literally means “having fun” or “playing”. What exactly is the “Agoro” style of play? Can we define it? Can we write books about it and teach 5-10 year olds? Isn’t it strange that we need a European coach to teach and manage “Agoro” on the senior national team level when he never played or studied “Agoro” in his life? /ppIn America ,we hear about “Phenoms” like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Venus and Serena Williams, etc. It is no secret that NBA scouts were attending LeBron James’ games in middle school. I believe the only way you know a “Phenom” when you see one is that you have a structure in place. That way, you have a process and a “unit of measure” to compare against. Whereas a “Phenom” is naturally very talented you cannot guarantee their success without a process and a structure that teaches the games. It is often said there are a lot of basketball players as talented as Michael Jordan in the ghetto. The reason they didn’t play on Michael’s level is simple – they never submitted themselves to the structure that produced Michael. So the 5 foot 5 inch guy who masters the structure by playing college basketball organized by the NCAA is better able to contribute more to the game and is paid millions to play professionally whereas the ghetto version of Michael Jordan is still….well, in the ghetto. /ppEnough said! It’s time to reboot “Agoro” as we know it today. Not change the style, because God knows our style of playing soccer reflects our culture and DNA like nothing else. Just organize it better! Can you imagine how many Michael Essien’s we could produce if we had a structure to football in Ghana?/ppHere’s my suggestion:/polliDocument “Agoro” and teach it so a 5year old or better yet a Makola woman can understand it. What is it? What is the best way to play in the “Agoro” system? What are the essential pieces you need to effectively play “Agoro” (just like Phil Jackson's triangle offense needed a small forward who could play the point like Scottie Pippen)? Do you need a right full back who doubles as a midfield winger? /libr /liOrganize football leagues for age groups 5-10 years, 10-15 years (if a player is any good, we will know by 16 (change his official age to 10...shhhhh...) and quickly sign him to a local premier league team coming off the bench). /libr /liLet every kid have a choice of playing organized football in school or in their neighborhoods under a trained coach. (if only we had this structure we will quickly realize that we need 4 or 5 soccer field in every neighborhood and we just can’t build homes on every piece of land available….sorry I had to throw that in there!)/libr /liOrganize yearly regional and national championships to showcase the best amateurs. /li/olpThere are larger economic and cultural benefits to having more structure to our sports that I hope to address in future blogs. /ppLong Live Agoro! Long live Ghana! /p/div/div/div/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-3915460242388923623?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
May 10, 2009
20:14
Top 10 Ghana - Greatest Footballers of All Time
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

1. Abedi Pelebr /2. Michael Essienbr /3. Tony Yeboahbr /4. Samuel Osei Kuffourbr /5. Abdul Razakbr /6. Opoku Afriyiebr /7. Mohammed Polobr /8. Opoku Ntibr /9. Sulley Muntaribr /10. CK Akunnorbr /br /The rankings are mostly based on each player's impact on the professional game (mostly in Europe) and their contributions to the game in Ghana. Until the era of Tony Yeboah and Abedi Pele most of our footballers played locally. It would have been great to see the likes of Abdul Razak and Opoku Nti play in top European leagues.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-1062101350934023233?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
May 04, 2009
4:24
David Ofosu-Dorte: Reflections, Lamentations and Recommendations of an Ordinary Ghanaian
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

pI’ve tried to the best of my ability to transcribe and summarize Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah’s (Joy FM) a href="http://news.myjoyonline.com/news/200904/29462.asp"interview/a with a href="http://africanliberty.org/node/695"David Ofosu-Dorte/a below. More and more I’m impression people like David (instead of the political talking heads) get a platform to speak to the people of Ghana and its leaders about building the foundations for sustainable development. He touched on a lot of basic but thoroughly thought through points that I have mentioned in my previous blog posts.br /br /7 serious issues that need to be addressed in Ghana:br /br /1. Failure to see that a united country is a very important factor in our development/pulliEmphasize competence and merit and de-emphasize tribe - In the 50’s there were political parties and associations based on ethnic groups e.g. Ga Association, Northern People’s Party, Anlo Youth Association etc. Overtime there was a conscious effort to curb this tendency. Until the mid 80’s District Chief Executives (DCEs) did not have to come from the areas they served. For example, Ampofo from the south is associated with the development of Bolgatanga, Col. Minela from the north was instrumental in the development of Koforidua, and Joshua Alarbi a Ga was influential in forging peace between Kokomba –Nanomba in the north. /liliWe should reshuffle of regional ministerial posts where the current Ashanti Regional Minister serves the Volta Region and vice versa. /li/ulp2. Failure to address the “Ghanaian Attitude”/pulliAttitudes to time affect productivity/liliWe plan but don’t implement/liliWe worship our leaders in the tradition of our tribal chiefs/liliWe prefer foreigners to our own fellow citizens in awarding contracts etc. /li/ulp3. Need for systematic changes (entrenched practices that need to change)/pulliWaste (of resources) should not be encouraged./liliWe need to hold people accountable for what they do. We should not confuse justice with vengeance./liliWe need house numbers and street names. /liliNational ID Card program will not be successful without it/liliNational Health Insurance Scheme will not be successful without it/liliFire Service Dept looks for smoke to locate a burning house/liliPolice looking for arrest a suspect go around asking in the neighborhood/li/ulp4. Failure to take bold steps to develop infrastructurebr //pulliTransit systems should be built to ease traffic congestion along the following routes:/liliMedina to Accra/liliObetsebi-Lamptey Circle to Mallam/liliTeshie Corridor/li/ulp5. Issues that have an indirect impact on the economy/pp6. Failure to properly empower the people/pp7. Failure to integrate our thinking and policies so that one thing does not have a negative impact on others. /ppbr /David: When should we expect the book on this topic? Seriously! /pdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-5621430545301578573?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
April 25, 2009
13:50
Sometime in our lifetime (we need to build a new capital city in Ghana)
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SfMXrjWo0qI/AAAAAAAAABY/PSVAZujLnXc/s1600-h/Accra+Pic.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328628821101433506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SfMXrjWo0qI/AAAAAAAAABY/PSVAZujLnXc/s400/Accra+Pic.jpg" border="0" //abr /divdiv/divdivYes! Accra is great but we all know it’s not perfect. It was the seat of the government when we took over from the British Colonial Government in 1957. So technically we can all agree we didn’t have much to do with its planning. Close your eyes for a minute and just assume the last 50 plus years of self determination (albeit painfully nonexistent for long stretches of time) didn’t happen. /divdivbr /It’s time to build a new capital city! A city by us and for us the way we want to live. Let it be a statement of our independence. We need to show the world that if we had control over our affair (which we do now) this is how things would be.br /br /It will be great if we could gather a committee that includes all the political parties NDC, NPP, CPP, PNC, PHP, Architectures, Town Planners, Engineers, Entrepreneurs, Doctors, Teachers, Bankers, Lawyers, Market Women, Construction workers, School Children, Retirees, Farmers etc to design and build a new city.br /br /Of course it will be expensive and it will require building a new international airport and all the things that come with a capital city. The time for small thinking should be over by now./divbr /pHere’s what I’d like to see in our new capital:/pulliDesigned and built by the best of our engineers and town planners/liliPriority to qualified Ghanaian owned businesses and subcontractors as much as possible/liliHome Addresses/liliPost office mail with home delivery (if we still have snail mail by then)/liliCentral drainage and sewage system/liliCovered gutters/liliWater, Electricity, and Gas on demand/liliNo abandoned uncompleted buildings /liliIndustrial Area with 24/7 electricity connected to the grid and backup (ancillary service)/liliMajor hospital with free quarterly medical checkup for resident tax payers/liliMajor tolled road from Accra with rest stops and ambulance stations and police patrol/liliStreet Lights/liliParks, Tennis Courts, Running tracks, Picnic and Recreational areas/liliPublic Library (hopefully we won’t need a huge building because Google would have scanned every book ever written by then)/liliSpeed Limits and police issuing speeding tickets/liliGarbage collection service/liliDiscourage Plastic Water Bottles and sachet water /liliMajor irrigated commercial farms outside the city limits that grow as many of the our foods as possible/liliAll bulbs will be energy efficient by law/liliTailors and seamstresses who are licensed by a board and can make most of the suits and cloths we import. /liliMulti-use buildings/lili21st Century open air African market with bargaining as we like it /liliHeavy dependence on light rail and sustainable public transport/liliTax private vehicles by tolling most roads/liliUniversity of Ghana (NewCapital Campus) that pays 100% tuition and is only subsided for governments employees and their families/li/ul/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-4235169710800349764?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
April 21, 2009
16:41
Top 10 Ghana - Greatest Highlife Artists of All Time
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

pBy now you can probably tell I have a fascination with lists: /polliAmakye Dede/liliDaddy Lumba/liliKojo Antwi/liliBen Brako/liliAB Crentsil/liliGeorge Darko/liliNana Acheampong /liliNana Tuffour/liliPat Thomas/liliJewel Ackah/li/olpThe top 3 are interchangable based on the time of day and where the music is being played. What say ye?/pp/pdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-4235397472083486059?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
April 15, 2009
21:09
Planter's Lodge - Takoradi
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

Planter’s Lodge was built by the British Air Force for their flying officers in 1934 in Takoradi, in the Western Region of Ghana. It was later sold to a British company who used it as a hotel. The is now owned and operated by Ghanaians.....more on their a href="http://www.planters.com.gh/site/0.about-us.html"website/abr /br /img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325028953913407122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 114px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SeZNntCttpI/AAAAAAAAABI/7Gye8usmD5g/s320/plantersDining.jpg" border="0" / img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325028787773235042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 220px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SeZNeCHz32I/AAAAAAAAABA/vEYxixkM2OU/s320/bedroom.jpg" border="0" /br /divI love Ghanaian businesses! Take a break from Accra and visit Planter's Lodge, would you? /divbr /div/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-2435982662760325250?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
April 13, 2009
20:46
My Summer Reading List
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

pa onclick="if (typeof(SitbReader) != 'undefined') { SitbReader.LightboxActions.openReader('sib_dp_pt'); return false; }" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1594483299/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link"/a/ppHere's my summer reading list:/pollispan style="font-size:85%;"Telex from Cuba/span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"The Bad Girl: A Novel /span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam /span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"The Guns of August /span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"The Pillars of the Earth /span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"The White Tiger: A Novel /span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao/span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"All Aunt Hagar's Children: Stories - Edward P. Jones/span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"Lost in the City - Edward P. Jones/span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"The Known World - Edward P. Jones/span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"Gilead: A Novel - Marilynne Robinson/span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"The Africans - David Lamb/span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America /span/lilispan style="font-size:85%;"The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World/span/li/olbr /p3 Down, 11 to go!/pdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-5331987670618200954?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
April 07, 2009
16:18
The Responsibilities of Ghana’s Ruling Elite
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

pIn the days leading up to the French Revolution, it is said that when her assistants informed her that the peasants had no bread to eat Marie Antoinette, the frivolous queen, said “Let them eat cake”.br /br /And so goes the story of many of the “Ruling Elite” all around the world. It is the story of Batista’s Cuba before Castro took over. It is the story of the largesse of the America’s CEOs and business leaders before the “depression” of 2008-20XX. It is the story of NPP government’s ex-gratia demands of a $1million government funded NGO for the ex-president. That the ruling elite become detached from reality as they acquire and protect their wealth is nothing new.br /br /The Ruling Elite or Ruling Class is not necessarily only those holding elected office in this great land.br /br /Here is Wikipedia’s definition:br /br /“emThe ruling class is a particular sector of the upper class that adheres to quite specific circumstances: it has both strongthe most material wealth/strong and strongthe most widespread influence/strong over all the other classes, and it chooses to actively exercise that power to shape the direction of a locality, a country, and/or the world/em.”br /br /You know we have 3 classes in Ghana, right? The upper class, marginally poor, and dirt poor. So we can agree that the Ghana’s Ruling Elite are the people in a society with the most material wealth and the most widespread influence in Ghana. I’m sure you know a few such people if you are not one yourself.br /br /So my question is this; as a young a fragile democracy, what is the responsibility of Ghana’s Ruling Elite to the country that has given them such wealth and influence.br /br /Here’s what I think it should be:br //pulliUse your collective influence – there are Joneses in every culture and I believe it is human nature for everybody to want to be like the Joneses but I think more so in Ghana than anywhere I have lived we are such “good followers”. If the Ruling Elite (remember? those people with the most widespread influence) could exercise their widespread influence collectively in a positive direction imagine what great impact it will have on our country.br //liliEstablish businesses that make things or provide services and employs people.br //liliPatronize locally made products and reduce your dependence on foreign imports as much as you can. For example, have a local manufacturer make you a juicer and have the house help make you some fresh squeezed orange juice with oranges from farms in the hinterland instead of drinking the South African orange juice that comes in the paper box with so much high fructose corn syrup – nothing against South Africa. A glass of organic Orange Juice in a trendy New York City restaurant costs about $5 but Ghanaian elite want to drink boxed orange juice from South Africa with High Fructose Corn Syrup). Most American Corporate CEOs (especially in the Midwest) have foreign cars in their drive way but for political reasons they always drive that big old American car to work from Monday to Friday. It is good politics and good business.br //liliKeep (your friends in) government accountable. Don’t condone stealing (Oh sorry, taking things).br //liliWhen (not if) you travel outside the country (the more you do the more elite you are in Ghana) spend some time outside the shopping malls and learn something new. Don’t go looking for things you can buy to sell in Ghana. Take a tour of the city and learn how it was built you’ll be surprised to learn that Rome wasn’t built in a day and it takes ordinary people with a simple idea and some serious planning to build everything we love about western cities.br //liliWhile your kids go to all the private prep schools, keep an eye on the quality of public education in your village or your neighborhood. We need everybody on board for a better tomorrow.br //liliDon’t promote tribalism. Come on! It’s 2009. You have all these degrees after your name. You’ve travelled the world. You know better.br //liliSupport the Arts – get some good Ghanaian paintings in your house or office and get a traditional dancing group to perform at your wedding. In any country the ruling elite support the arts as a means of promoting and projecting the elegance of the culture. During the Renaissance era artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, and Michelangelo were used by the ruling elite to preserve western culture. Think about this; thanks to paintings like Leonardo DaVinci’s Last Supper many people today think Jesus Christ was a blond haired blue eyed man from Italy. We all know Jesus was a Jew.br //li/ulpAmen! /pdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-5489550803593257170?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
April 06, 2009
15:25
Prof. Mensah
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

This guy does the perfect impression of a typical 50-60 yr old Ghanaian man. Check it out!br /br /br /object width="425" height="344"param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nTEyw6PjEekhl=enfs=1"/paramparam name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/paramparam name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/paramembed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nTEyw6PjEekhl=enfs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"/embed/objectdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-2056898322168977637?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
April 03, 2009
19:34
East Legon Circa 1989 (We used to have enough water for the lawn)
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SdZlGuQekBI/AAAAAAAAAAw/Gq3FCyZTnIk/s1600-h/sprinklers_250x251.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320551175955582994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 251px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FdMMgV3D6Mw/SdZlGuQekBI/AAAAAAAAAAw/Gq3FCyZTnIk/s320/sprinklers_250x251.jpg" border="0" //a The last time I was home I heard my dad talk about how he woke up around 4am and realized the tap was flowing so he woke the boys to pump some water to the rooftop reservoirs. He sounded like it was some kind of serendipitous accomplishment that he happened upon a “flowing tap”. But seriously, can you blame the man? The tap hadn’t flowed for at least 3 weeks.br /br /That in our beloved capital city of Accra, Ghana in the year 2009 A.D. cannot deliver water consistently to a household that is willing and able to pay water bills is beyond shame. Even if the government and “we the people” are forgetting the utilitarian benefit of having consistent flowing water in our capital city, the Capitalist in me cringes at the thought that someone (the government, the water company etc) is missing an opportunity to make decent consistent money.br /br /It wasn’t always like this you know. My family moved to East Legon in 1989 and I remember we used to water our lawn most evenings up until it became impossible to do in the late 90s due to inconsistency in the water schedule. These days, our lawn is very green in the rainy seasons and completely brown in the dry season. So what exactly happened? Have we regressed as a country?br /br /We have more Jaguars and Range Rovers on our streets than ever before and we don’t even have water in our homes. I’m not one to knock people who like nice things. God knows we Ghanaians have good taste in all things money can buy. I have heard some people in Ghana say “I absolutely insist on driving only German cars!”…..maybe someday soon they can say “I absolutely insist on drive only German cars on decent roads only after I’ve taken a good shower (not from a bucket)!” Hello?!!div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-6692494634052723051?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
April 01, 2009
23:24
Will Ghana’s Emeril or Jamie Oliver Please Stand Up
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

pWhat are the top 10 fine dining restaurants in Accra? Somebody help me out here:/polliLa Chaumiere (French)/liliMonsoon (Australian)/liliTante Marie (Who knows??)/liliRhapsody (South African)/liliDynasty (Chinese)/liliBuka (Ghanaian)/liliHaveli (Indian)/lili????/lili????/lilidiv align="left"????/div/li/olp align="left"Say you have some client’s or guest from overseas (or overland) in Accra and you just signed a major multi-million dollar agreement with this client at your sprawling office complex in Airport City (this should be happening more and more now seeing that Ghana is gradually becoming the preferred business destination in the West African Sub-Region). To celebrate the deal the client requests dinner at an authentically strongGhanaian Fine Dining/strong establishment with an exotic wine list and a reputable Ghanaian Chef – owned and operated by a Ghanaian. What are your options? /pp align="left"We have had Ghanaians living and working in Japan, Italy, France, etc for the last 30 years. How come we don’t have a “Ghanaianized” Italian Restaurant somewhere in Accra operated by a returnee? How come we don’t have any well known Chefs who make the best Ghanaian food and experiment with our traditional dishes? Does everybody have to be a lawyer, parliamentarian, or a contractor? Does everybody have to work at a bank or as a project manager or for an NGO? /pp align="left"Will the Ghanaians who have money to go to Dynasty etc patronize such an institution?/pdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-1137513297364697514?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
19:40
My First Blog
» ‎ Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive

So I've made the leap! After following a few blogs for some months I have decided that I have something to say. I look forward to sharing with you.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4310504665190504497-7009103109911166526?l=princeofadovoria.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

← Perspectives Rain in Africa →

Free Web Hosting by Web4Africa

Feeds

Prince of Adovoria - The Voice of a Ghanaian Progressive (26 unread)

Are you NPP, NDC or Ghanaian?

Great Ice Cream in Osu - Arlecchino

The Exodus Project

Post-Racial America has Ghana in it

"Blue Kiosk" Economics

Why are we so bad at networking?

Giving up on Fufu Light Soup with Goat Meat

What motivates you?

Nice Body or Pretty Face?

What does PhD got to do with it? "Credentialism" and Ghana's Development

It’s ok to plan

My Maiden Voyage to Lagos, Nigeria

Hypocrisy, The French, Omar Bongo, and Ghana's Neighbors

Top 10 Ghana - Nicest Neighborhoods in Accra

AGORO v. 2.0 - Retooling Ghana Soccer from the Grassroots

Top 10 Ghana - Greatest Footballers of All Time

David Ofosu-Dorte: Reflections, Lamentations and Recommendations of an Ordinary Ghanaian

Sometime in our lifetime (we need to build a new capital city in Ghana)

Top 10 Ghana - Greatest Highlife Artists of All Time

Planter's Lodge - Takoradi

My Summer Reading List

The Responsibilities of Ghana’s Ruling Elite

Prof. Mensah

East Legon Circa 1989 (We used to have enough water for the lawn)

Will Ghana’s Emeril or Jamie Oliver Please Stand Up

My First Blog