The Skin I’m In

Mar 24, 2010 |

Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in Johannesburg has a number of different experiential programmes that are designed to change and expand perspective. I have been fortunate to interact with the space quite a bit and, for the last four years, have spoken at the opening session of their programme for high schools students called Spirit of Youth. The first  session is always on Race and Identity. Recently, I was invited to come share my story at their Nexus programme for session on Identity. Essentially, they had a number of guests and we were each assigned a seat with a couple of...

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Sulley Muntari (AFF)

Mar 18, 2010 |

Being a Black Stars fan, I obviously admire many a player on the team, including Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah, John Mensah and Asamoah Gyan, as well as the young guard working their way into first team, after winning the FIFA U21 World Championship and helping Black Stars reach the Africa Cup of Nations 2010 Final. That said, from when he first burst into Ghana’s first team, I’ve been a fan of Sulleyman Ali “Sulley” Muntari. It is disappointing that he has been temperamental and, as a result, left out of the team because of his actions rather than his playing ability. For the recent Africa...

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Poem: Children of the Stars

Mar 4, 2010 | ,

This Saturday, Ghana celebrates its 53rd year as an independent nation. While I did not grow up in Ghana, I do feel a strong bond with the land of my ancestors and was raised with the pan-African ideals that Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah was instrumental in developing. I still believe in those and consider myself African above all else (without denial of my German and European roots). I sincerely believe that, if we all put aside the pettiness and individualism that has crept into our societies over the decades, we can turn ourselves in a positive and powerful continent. Three years ago, when we...

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Africa’s Football Finest

Jan 8, 2010 |

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the beautiful game – football. I try to watch as much as I can and there are certain teams that I have supported since I was a child, like Liverpool and Bayern Munich. From a national perspective, it has always been Germany and, Africa’s first national team, the Black Stars – Ghana. During my younger years, one rarely heard of African players making it in the more resourced and developed leagues, like the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga or Italy’s Serie A. African football was considered the poor little cousin everyone tolerated, despite...

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Musings – An Attempt To Understand Pain

Jul 14, 2009 |

I went to an international school, Machabeng High School, in a small African country, Lesotho, that has the privilege of being the only country in the world landlocked by one country. The teachers and students in my school came from all over the world and, at some stage, we had over 30 different nationalities from Sri Lankan, Ugandan, Kenyan, Egyptian, British to American, Irish, Swedish, Ghanaian and, of course, Basotho. This diversity, coupled with a home environment that was global in its outlook & influence, ensured that my reading, from an early age, was broad.  One of the areas I...

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Musings – A Return To The Source

Jul 2, 2009 |

I have come to the conclusion that Ghanaians are nomadic creatures. Beings who thrive on motion. Being of Ghanaian descent, I was born and raised outside of the true Black Star Nation. In 36 years, I spent a little time in Ghana as a baby (literally) until December of last year when I made the trip with my father and brother. In the two weeks I was in Ghana, we crammed in as much as we could, touring Accra, visiting Kumasi, Elmina, going to the Elmina Slave Fort, The Nkrumah Mausoleum, etc. It was during the Presidential Run-Off which allowed me some insights into the intricacies of politics...

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