The two 'proudest' Ghanaian moments on the global stage of 2023

This list could have been more expansive, but there is no doubt that the following two moments gave Ghanaians their proudest moments in the year in review, also because of how globally-reaching the excitements went.

And these two moments were tied to the Guinness World Records.

Here they are:

1: Breakdown of how 14 Ghanaians drove 10,000km from Accra to London

In 2018, the idea was birthed and 5 years later, it was realized. On July 23, they decided to embark on a wild adventure, travelling through several countries to get to London in Europe.

In total, these 14 persons made up of 13 gentlemen and one female took 5 vehicles and set off.

Confirmed participants were Kwabena Peprah, Saka, Fred Papa Kwofie, Richard, Kwame Peprah, Kofi Peprah, Kwadwo Prakah-Asante, Franklin Peters and his son Quincy, Joseph, Cyprian Ed, Kwabena Ayirebi and his brother Kojo and the only female in the pack, Serwa the Shecanic.

Of course, they had ‘plan B’s’, barring all unforeseen circumstances to take the trip till they faced situations where they may have had to continue the rest of the journey by flight but fortunately, they didn’t have to.

Along the way, some 5 members of the team returned to Accra because of work among other things.

But in all, 9 participants made it.

It was a 16-day trip and in all, they went through 11 countries.

This was detailed by one of the participants; Kwabena Peprah in a Facebook post.
This is a breakdown of the countries travelled by road in 16 days and the processes involved.

Day 1: Long drive on day 1 to Bouake in Côte d’Ivoire, using the border at Gonokrom near Dormaa Ahenkro (540km):

They went through paperwork for the clearing of the cars at the customs entries as part of the border crossing requirements at the Ghana border into Ivory Coast which according to them was not too difficult.

With each of them having Lassez Passers (Valid travel document recognized by member states), they went through the process and moved on to Takikro.

With immigration officials at Takikro still in Cote D’Ivoire trying to extort them, they used the longer Yamoussoukro - Bouake road instead of the shorter but bad bandit road.



Day 2, driving from Bamako Mali through Tingrela (790km):

Attempts were made to extort them at the Tingrela border, they took pictures of documents and vehicles and drove to the Malian border post. Malians were stricter with their processes; the lasses passez didn’t take long but the search process of belongings and cars did.

They were assisted by the Ghanaian Mission in Bomaku – The consul met and escorted them to Bomako.

At this point, they had some brake issues with some of the vehicles but after some checks, they were on their way.

Day 3, continue to the Senegalese border and then on to Dakar (Senegal) (620km):

Halfway to Dakar, the road is terrible but they managed to go through. According to the writeup, there are three active terrorist areas in this stretch where attacks are said to happen.

They were warned to stop far away anytime they see a herd of cattle crossing the road and to back up, prepared to turn and fire away at the slightest hint of trouble because the terrorists are able to cross the road with cattle to stop you whilst they flank you and deal with you mercilessly.

They met some cattle crossings but fortunately, those were innocent.

Day 4 and 5 – Dakar (888km):

They went through the Malian side in Diboli and went through processes to get into Senegal at Kidra.
Senegalese police were friendly. The team stayed at Dakar an extra day to work on their vehicles which had some mechanical problems and also to take some rest.

Day 6, Nouakchott, Mauritania (588km):

Mauritanian officials gave them a tough time. They were rude and offensive. They were refused passage through Mauritania so they returned for their Laissez Passez so they could go through another town in Senegal (Rosso).

All 5 vehicles managed to cross on one vessel by a ferry across the border. They got someone to help with the processes at the Mauritanian side of the border.

After many payments, the cars were cleared, they were arrested for having their vehicles tinted and after the forth and back, they moved on to Nouakchott in Mauritania.

Day 6 to Day 8 – Morocco:

The drive in Nouadibou; Mauritania was quite stressful with extreme heat and strong winds. The air was so hot that the performances of the car dropped rapidly. Intake temperatures were so hot so fuel burn was crazy. The Moroccan consul helped with the border crossing from Mauritania to Morocco.

The cars were scanned through some giant scanners and they continued the journey. There was a country called Western Sahara sandwiched in between Morocco and Mauritania with wasteland of nothing.

They rested at Dakhla and moved to Agadir and then to Tangier.

Day 9

They crossed Tangier to Algeciras in Spain with the ferry and continue to sleep in Valencia.

They went through rigorous checks in Spain. Mobile scanners scan the vehicle, drug canines check after, and then they are cleared.

Day 11, Monaco

Day 12, Lake Como

Day 13, Frankfurt

Day 14, Amsterdam

Day 16, they arrived in London, via Calais / Dover much to the excitement of other Ghanaians in London who didn’t fail to express their excitement and welcome them.

Here are some videos:









Here is the full post:



2: Facts about Afua Asantewaa, the Ghanaian aiming to break Guinness World Record sing-a-thon

The attempt which commenced on December 24 ended on Friday, December 29, 2023, attracting many Ghanaians, including Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who graced the occasion on Christmas day.

A tall list of showbiz personalities including Nana Ama McBrown, Kwabena Kwabena, Efya, Sista Afia, Afronitaa, Delay, Cina Soul, Clemento Suarez, Akuapem Poloo, Lawyer Nti, Piesie Esther and OB Amponsah all thronged the venue to demonstrate their collective support for the event.

Social media was abuzz with attendees enthusiastically sharing videos of themselves enjoying Asantewaa’s performance. The commentaries were overwhelmingly positive, with people consistently applauding and encouraging her to forge ahead in her impressive endeavor.

According to the official report from Guinness World Records, the longest singing marathon by an individual was accomplished by Sunil Waghmare from India. This remarkable feat lasted for an impressive 105 hours and took place in Nagpur, India, from March 3 to March 7, 2012.

The record-breaking attempt commenced at 11:06 am on March 3, featuring a diverse selection of popular Indian songs. Notably, each song sung during the marathon was unique and not repeated within 4 hours. The event concluded on the evening of March 7, culminating in a celebratory sing-along with Mr. Waghmare and his supporters.

Afua Asantewaa, an entrepreneur, eventually sang ended her attempt at 126hours 52 minutes.

Below are some facts about her as shared by her colleagues on social media

1. She is a wife and mother of three who multitasks to achieve as though it is her hobby.

2. She attempted GMB twice and was a finalist in all attempts.

3. She is an Ex-Beauty Queen with the best project. (Miss Tourism)

4. She is the brain behind Ghana Outstanding Women Awards which is known for hosting influential people in the country.

5. She is the brain behind Africa Outstanding Women Awards which is known for hosting influential people in Africa on first attempt.

6. She is the brain behind MISS KIDI GHANA, Miss Kidi Africa which is the only consistent kids pageant in West Africa.

7. She is the brain behind Teen Queen Ghana.

8. She is the brain behind Pose for Africa reality show which has changed the narrative in Ghana’s modeling industry.

9. She is a master planner who can actually dedicate months on her feet to build and execute her own concepts and those of others.

10. She personally grooms talents behind closed doors.







AE