Yesterday President Barack Obama visited Ghana and the entire country was in a tizzy about the trip. The visit has been the talk of Accra for a month now and going around town one cannot help but notice the American flags everywhere, the banners with pictures of the President and the First Lady, Michelle, that “Welcome Home” the First Family, and the cloth that has been specially printed with different variations of pictures of President Obama, the First Family, and Atta Mills, the Ghanaian President. It is interesting to note that as much as Americans feel that Obama is their President, Ghanaians feel much the same way based not only on ideology and policy, but also (if not more so) on skin color.
Albeit President Obama’s first visit, and only stop in, sub-Saharan Africa, it is not the first time that a sitting US President has made the trip to Ghana. Both President Clinton and President George W. Bush have stopped, on separate occasions, in the country and were each warmly welcomed. President Clinton addressed millions of Ghanaians in Accra and President and Laura Bush visited hospitals and donated millions of dollars in aide money (the “George Bush Highway,” as locals call it, is currently under construction in Accra).
However, the fervor for which Ghanaians greeted Obama has been unequalled. In the days leading up to President Obama’s arrival, the Daily Graphic, Ghana’s most widely circulated periodical, printed such headlines as “History Beckons,” “’I Want To See You, Obama; Thousands of Expectant Fans Say’,” “Here Comes O-B-A-M-A,” and finally, upon his arrival, “Welcome Home, Obama.” Not to mention that recently a “Hotel Obama” has opened and market vendors now hawk “Obama Pure Water” and “Obama Biscuits.”
He arrived late Friday night and was formally welcomed at the airport. Saturday, he had a business breakfast with President Mills of Ghana and later addressed, in a televised speech, the Ghanaian Parliament and Dignitaries. He visited a local hospital and toured, with his family, Cape Coast Castle and the infamous “Door of No Return.” Cape Coast Castle is believed to have been the single largest exit point for Africans bound for slavery in the Americas and the “Door” was the last moment millions of Africans would ever touch African soil.
As quickly as President Obama and family arrived in Ghana, they left. There was a formal departure ceremony at the airport, which, I and my sister, along with the other Fulbrighters, were lucky enough to attend. All together, there were, on my best estimate, nearly 3,000 people there. Being an American citizen in Ghana does have a few perks however and we were let into a smaller, reserved, section with only a few hundred people.
When President Obama and President Mills arrived, they each briefly addressed the crowd and then shook hands with some of the onlookers before President Obama and the First Family boarded AirForce One and returned to the United States. Unfortunately, neither my sister nor I were able to shake hands with the President, but we were able to get a few pictures as we were, at one point a mere 4 or 5 feet away from him. It was a long afternoon of standing and waiting, but well worth it in the end.
Albeit President Obama’s first visit, and only stop in, sub-Saharan Africa, it is not the first time that a sitting US President has made the trip to Ghana. Both President Clinton and President George W. Bush have stopped, on separate occasions, in the country and were each warmly welcomed. President Clinton addressed millions of Ghanaians in Accra and President and Laura Bush visited hospitals and donated millions of dollars in aide money (the “George Bush Highway,” as locals call it, is currently under construction in Accra).
However, the fervor for which Ghanaians greeted Obama has been unequalled. In the days leading up to President Obama’s arrival, the Daily Graphic, Ghana’s most widely circulated periodical, printed such headlines as “History Beckons,” “’I Want To See You, Obama; Thousands of Expectant Fans Say’,” “Here Comes O-B-A-M-A,” and finally, upon his arrival, “Welcome Home, Obama.” Not to mention that recently a “Hotel Obama” has opened and market vendors now hawk “Obama Pure Water” and “Obama Biscuits.”
He arrived late Friday night and was formally welcomed at the airport. Saturday, he had a business breakfast with President Mills of Ghana and later addressed, in a televised speech, the Ghanaian Parliament and Dignitaries. He visited a local hospital and toured, with his family, Cape Coast Castle and the infamous “Door of No Return.” Cape Coast Castle is believed to have been the single largest exit point for Africans bound for slavery in the Americas and the “Door” was the last moment millions of Africans would ever touch African soil.
As quickly as President Obama and family arrived in Ghana, they left. There was a formal departure ceremony at the airport, which, I and my sister, along with the other Fulbrighters, were lucky enough to attend. All together, there were, on my best estimate, nearly 3,000 people there. Being an American citizen in Ghana does have a few perks however and we were let into a smaller, reserved, section with only a few hundred people.
When President Obama and President Mills arrived, they each briefly addressed the crowd and then shook hands with some of the onlookers before President Obama and the First Family boarded AirForce One and returned to the United States. Unfortunately, neither my sister nor I were able to shake hands with the President, but we were able to get a few pictures as we were, at one point a mere 4 or 5 feet away from him. It was a long afternoon of standing and waiting, but well worth it in the end.
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