Monday 17 September 2012

Funny: SIRI in Twi

Saturday 15 September 2012

Ghana Decides Tag: Election 2012 Video Campaign

Hey Guys, Ghana Decides are starting a new pre-election project. It's the Ghana Decides Tag for YouTube to be shared on all other platforms. I've copied and pasted the questions below from the Ghana Decides website. Get started on yours now, share ideas, build the nation.




How to Participate
  1. Choose five (5) Ghana Decides Tag and two trivia questions (see below).
  2. Record a video answering the questions and upload to YouTube using “Ghana Decides” and “Ghana Decides Tag” as part of your YouTube tags during the upload.
  3. Share the link to your GhD Tag video using #GhanaDecides on Twitter and Google Plus. Also post your link on the Ghana Decides Facebook page.
  4.  Tag 3-5 friends to also participate in the tag. Download the Ghana Decides Tag How-to Document and share.
GhD Tag Questions:
  • Identify yourself – Name, Location, Voter registration status
  • What was your experience as a first-time registered voter?
  • Do you plan to vote in this election? Why/Why not?
  • Do you think Ghanaians in the Diaspora should be allowed to vote in presidential
  • elections? Why/Why not?
  •  What is the most important issue for u during this election cycle, and why?
  •  What top two qualities would you expect of Ghana’s next president?
  • Which is more important and why – the party that governs or the individual who’s president?
  •  How do you say “Let’s have a peaceful election” in your local language?
  •  Where do you see Ghana in the next 5 years?
  •  Complete the sentence: My Ghana is…
  •  Complete the sentence: If I were president…
  •  Complete the sentence: Being Ghanaian means…
  •  If you could envision a “new Ghana” what would it be?
  •  On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate Ghana’s progress over the past four years?
  •  What criteria will you be using to select your candidate of choice? (eg. Party affiliation,charisma, personality, campaign platform, professional background, ethnic background, none)
Trivia/Educational Questions:
  • What is the date of Ghana’s 2012 presidential election
  • How many parties are vying for the seat
  • Who was Ghana’s first president?
  • How many presidents and republics has Ghana had so far?
  • What is the most common name held by Ghanaian presidents so far?
  • What is the legal age for being eligible to vote in Ghana?
  • A Ghanaian-American can vote in Ghana, true or false?
Here is a sample Ghana Decides Tag video.
More Info
Each video should be a maximum of 5 minutes, however participants are free to be as creative as they would like with their videos. Multiple entries are also fine. At the end of the campaign the most popular videos (by way of view count) will be compiled into one video. Additional activities planned include tweet ups and Google Plus hangouts inspired by video responses. If you have any specific questions you think we should include or suggestions on how the tag could be improved, email info[at]ghanadecides.com. Tag, you’re it!

Thursday 13 September 2012

Yoruba or No?: Yes, Yoruba.

You might remember my Yoruba or no? post where I presented to you the dilemma of whether to study Yoruba or not. In the end, SOAS accepted me. So I will be studying Yoruba. As such I will be adding to this blog a documentation of my trials trying to master what my dad has called "the most cultured language in the world".

I reckon to not confuse this particular blog any further than I have already (it started as a travel blog and metamorphasised into a political commentary) I'm gonna start a separate blog - details of which will follow soon.

If you are Ghanaian, please still follow my Yoruba journey because I reckon it's the same thing most African descendant Westerners have to go through - it just might make for an interesting read. ;]


Wednesday 12 September 2012

#DearNigeria: support your paralympians

The paralympic team for Nigeria did amazingly well and recieved worldwide recognition, but yet they got no reception upon returning home.

The Nigerian Paralympians are our heroes and should deserve a heroes welcome.


Tuesday 11 September 2012

Mandarin in Lagos, yes please.

Lagos will have their young people learning Chinese and according to BellaNaija, there is big debate as to whether this is a good thing or not.

What could be bad about it? There is no need for natives to be on the back foot in their own land because they can't negotiate with the new economic powerhouse that is China, on their terms.

I must say that Nigeria should also be doing their best to promote the learning of native languages (reading, writing and conversation) within their own young people and their diaspora descendants. The adoption of Mandarin as a language to learn within Nigerian schools is only a problem if it is yet another one-way imposition upon Nigerian culture and identity to the benefit of an alien culture, language and nation.

So really if we must debate the fact that our schools will teach Mandarin, the question is, will it be to compliment or replace our native (i.e. Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa) and presently adopted (i.e. English) languages?

All in all, I'm in favour of it. If used to strengthen Nigeria rather than re-suppress Nigeria we could be seeing the beginning of an even brighter future.

Land grab in Ethiopia by Foreigners from an irresponsible TPLF (Woyane) 'government'

Perhaps one of Africa's most vulnerable states, in my opinion, even though the AU is based there and most African countries contribute to its development Ethiopia's land is being used, not to help Ethiopians, or even other Africans, but rather people on other continents. What is the difference between today and a century ago?


Monday 10 September 2012

#DearNigeria , from Ola

I really don't need to say much to add to this, but to build and support the movement I'm also going to post my own #DearNigeria soon. Please watch, like, forward, email, reblog, tweet and most of all post a response. It's important that if you consider yourself Nigerian, or African, or Afropolitan, or whatever label or non-label you want to attribute, that you take equal responsibility to pull Nigeria from its inertia.

And if you are not Nigerian, still make the effort to post a #DearNigeria video if Nigeria is able to sort itself out 1/5 of Africa's problems are resolved.  

Enjoy.