Ghana still suffering from mental slavery

Koforidua, May 18, GNA- The Eastern Regional Director of the Centre for National Culture (CNC), Mr Kingsley Obeng, has observed that although mental slavery is the last vestige of the colonialism yoke Ghana experienced, it has been the most enduring of that unfortunate legacy.

He said whi le political freedom has been won, that of mental slavery continue to assail the people, adding that the nascent effects of the phenomenon will persist unless concrete steps such as revising the nation's school curriculum are taken to allow for the formation of new mental attitudes.

He was emphatic that without a revision of the educational curriculum in Ghana to allow for pedagogical instructions in Ghanaian heritage studies, not much will be achieved in terms of mental freedom. Mr Obeng was speaking on the topic: 'the Relevance of Emancipation Day in Ghana: the Cultural Perspective' at an Emancipation Day celebration organized by the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) for secondary schools, media practitioners and players in the hospitality industry at Koforidua on Wednesday.

Mr Obeng premised his expos=E9 on the legendary Bob Marley's hit reggae song of which excepts reads 'emancipate yourself from mental slavery,' noting that subject matter of that song is as relevant for the present generation as it was to the audience for which it was composed. Mr. Obeng marveled at the voluptuous appetite for foreign products, including second-hand panties while very few people patronize local fabrics manufactured to promote national identity.

According to Mr Obeng, many Ghanaians have become de-personalized and dominated by foreign values and in the case of the youth, they have developed a false perception which did not see anything attractive about Ghanaian cultural products. He said not only were such attitudes false and misplaced, but in addition the proponents tended to exhibit a certain ignorance about Ghanaian culture such as equating everything African to juju practice.

The Registrar of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, Mr Kwesi Sarkodie Opoku, in a contribution, said although the Pan-African Historical Theater Festival (PANAFEST) has the capacity and potential of attracting a huge number of international and domestic tourists, the event has often been plagued with poor organization and staffing. He stressed the need for a salaried Director and staff to be appointed to oversee the affairs of festival and as well enable them to develop a strategic plan for fund raising to enable the PANAFEST secretariat become a self-financing institution.

In a welcoming address, the Eastern Regional Director of the GTB, Mr Sampson Donkor, appealed to the media for support to enable the board to sensitize the people of the region and propagate its activities.