Ambassador Sells Ghana to Texas Business Executives

His arrival and departure were deliberately devoid of fan fare. On a quiet Thursday evening, he arrived as the VIP that he is, shook hands, exchanged pleasantries with his official hosts Honorary Consul Jack Webb and his wife Diane, and strolled over to the waiting Limousine that whisked him and his entourage of two to the plush Galleria Area Hotel in Houston, Texas. After chatting with a few friends for a couple of hours, it was time to turn in and get ready for the day ahead.

His Excellency Kwame Bawuah-Edusei, Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States had every reason to take it easy. After beginning a marathon weekend on Wednesday with a 24 hour stop in Dallas, Texas where he marketed Ghana’s conducive business environment to a multitude of corporate executives, following that session up with a series of one-on-one meetings with those executives hungry for additional information, and getting toasted at a late lunch, the former medical practitioner who still struggles to explain why he shelved his medical practice in favor of diplomacy needed a quiet evening to regroup for an even more robust schedule that awaited him in Houston.

And robust the schedule was.

The energy capital of the world was warm to the Ambassador. The day began with a rousing welcome at the Greater Houston Partnership in Downtown’s Allen Center. After Global Energy’s CEO Kenneth Yellowe’s opening remarks as Chairman of the Africa business Committee of the partnership, the previous Chairman, Ghana’s own Chris Wilmot brilliantly prefaced the Luncheon with his usual pointed remarks that obviously revealed his personal bias for the country that the World Bank states “is the best country in which to do business.” The stage was then set for the Ambassador to showcase Ghana.

The presentation took roughly thirty minutes, and it was in depth. In fact, so exciting was the Ambassador’s presentation that, at the conclusion of the Luncheon, just about anyone who had any affiliation with Ghana became magnets for participants seeking additional information on our country. After the presentation, it became clear how His Excellency had signed up all the Swiss executives and led them on a Trade Mission to Ghana while he was Ghana’s top diplomat there.

Dr. Bawuah-Edusei spent the rest of that May Friday with stops at City Hall, the County Judge’s office, and other private meetings. Later that night, after the business calendar had been fulfilled, it was time to meet the leadership of the Ghanaian community in Houston. The more relaxed atmosphere allowed for some personal interaction which left many members of our community rethinking their decision to view the Ambassador as a political figure rather than as a Ghanaian who represents all of us here in the United States.

Saturday was for Ghanaians in Houston. Councilwoman Ada Edwards, who hosted Dr. Bawuah-Edusei on her radio show may be an African American, but she values her name “Akua” as much as she values the numerous life changing experiences she has had in Ghana. The rest of the day saw the Ambassador visiting Ghanaian-owned businesses in the Houston area. Then in the evening, a banquet dubbed “Dinner with the Ambassador” capped it all up.

At the George Bush Intercontinental Airport on his way back to Washington, DC the next morning, the bounce in the Ambassador’s step surprised some. It gave no inkling as to the kind of schedule he had endured between the two cities. Apparently, four straight 16-hour workdays had as much impact on his energy as a bird would have landing on a battleship. His wife, the ever-gracious Evangeline, merely shook her head and qipped “that’s him.” The third member of the Ambassador’s small delegation, Trade Attache, Johnson Adasi concurred on Bawuah-Edusei’s work ethics.

Ghanaians have two choices. Either sit around and complain about everything, or take on the challenges and opportunities that our sustained peace and freedom have offered us. While not everything is great, Ghana is really on a roll now. As such, if there ever was a time to make things happen, that time is now. As Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Kwame Bawuah-Edusei is not only bent of seizing that opportunity, he encourages everyone to do the same. “If we fail to do something,” says he, “we have our own selves to blame.”