Our recent soccer matches as Black Stars have helped to set hearts at ease, and give us a feel of the Ghana we dearly miss: joyful screams of ‘Goaaall’ across the nation from Axim to Walewale last week. The left foot of Kudus in faraway Morocco had brought a fractured Ghana back together.
The World Cup should heal Ghana. Celebrating this, Kudus raced to the nearest horizontal railing and sat on it, inviting colleague players to come and share the feel of triumph. Mohammed had scored a goal not for himself but for Ghana. The united Ghana we miss after December.
World Cup 2022, the Black Stars had lost their luster: on the field of play they only chased shadows…. missed goals which a crawling infant could have tapped home; and Partey, he was noted to give his all only to Arsenals, not Ghana; what of Jordan Ayew? Too selfish, he even dribbles his own legs; as for Mohammed Kudus his magic had waned even at West Ham; and our goalkeeper Zigi? They say he was only dozing in the post. Poor Ghana, our searing critique at the touchline could dispirit the Stars. But the Black Stars in recent times, are changing the narrative to restore the Ghana we miss.
The stage was set earlier when on 6th March this year, a troubled Ghana in each other’s throat was given a rare anniversary gift: the spectacle of our living presidents seated side by side in the name of Independence: JAK, NADAA, JDM. Such anniversaries for several years would see one lonesome president waving a lone flag, and lip-synching ‘God bless my homeland Ghana.’ A Ghana where the President was not the President of Ghana, but the President of one party. 6th March showed the way, and inspired our Black Stars.
But our smiles were short lived. The virus soon returned and sent us back to a Ghana we dread. When the final whistle was blown in our victory over Chad, the final score as announced in the social media spoiled the party, and killed our joy. In one post I read, it was not Ghana that won. The score was simple: Mahama 5 Chad 0. But the warning signs were clear. Earlier on, the fate of Otto Addo the coach, hang in the balance. Since the NPP party that appointed him, had lost elections, it was said he should be preparing to pack bag and baggage and head back to Germany, leaving the vacant seat for a coach whose party is in power. The idea was probably for a new Constitution to give the president the power to appoint his own coach for the Black Stars on the advice of the Council of state; for it was thought a coach whose party was not in power, was likely to squander Ghana’s chances for the 2026 World Cup.
It also meant a mob of party faithful, would storm the stadium and give marching orders to Coach Addo, since ‘we are in power.’ It may also send party foot soldiers to queue at Accra Stadium in search of protocol for their wards: ‘I am a polling station chairman: my kid qualifies to play for the Starlets.’
The greatest joke however came, when I heard an extended comment in the social media: ‘The Black Stars are NDC, and deliberately lost several matches to make Nana Addo unpopular. Now that NDC is here, our Black Stars have found the net to prepare the Party for 2028.’ Oh the Ghana we miss.
But signs of fading Black Stars did not come alone; their jerseys told a more horror story that had echoes in Ghana flags fluttering across the country. The Ghana brand is gone. Our national colours berthed on 6th March, 1957 have been compromised. We miss Osagyefo’s Red Gold and Green gifted by Theodosia Okoh, our celebrated teacher and artist. Currently worn by the Black Stars and hoisted across the country is not the gold bequeathed by our founders. Red Yellow Green, with or without the Black Star is not Ghana. Counterfeit Gold, pale gold, poor gold. Please return to sender. Galamsey has given our gold a bad image. No longer the Gold Coast. Yaanom, our Gold is gone. Let the State Protocol trek across the nation and pull down counterfeit flags impersonating Ghana.
It’s probably not their fault. See the Ghana colours as your plane dances to land at Kotoka. Counterfeit rivers! Tano is gone, Osagyefo’s Ankobra is gone; J B Danquah’s Birim is gone. Ghana is gone. The Ghana we miss.
This Heritage month, Auntie Efua Sutherland would have asked, ‘Kwesi, Koopuu no wo hen? The answer is obvious. Yaabon. Where is the heritage, we broke it.
This Heritage month, along with the Black Stars, we mourn our Gold.
The Ghana we Miss.
kyankah@ashesi.edu.gh
