Ghana — A Kaleidoscope of Colours 🎨
When I stepped into Ghana, I kinda knew what to expect. we hear everywhere that GHANA is Nigeria’s distant sibling so I wasn’t expecting a lot of a cultural shift. But maybe I was wrong, I was both surprised by the array of colors in Ghana’s scenery and culture, and the quietness or as GenZ would call it “chillness” of Ghanaians.
This is an attempt to capture all the beauty of this land & its people, you’ll find that I’ll be contrasting Ghana to Nigeria, but that’s in no way comparing both countries, both countries are unique & beautiful in different ways, and I’ve had experiences in both, and I’m only sharing my experience in both countries
The City of Stars
The first thing I noticed as I stepped into Kotoka International Airport was the tranquility. This calmness allowed you to finally be at ease and drop the tension you’d have in a flight or fight mood. I was taken aback by the freshness of the air, the neatness of the airport & orderliness of the cars on the roads. Everyone was just chilled, coming from Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos, the stack difference in the slower pace of life in Ghana was visible
Ghana’s Architecture
A lot of people may not know but I’m hugely drawn to Landscape, architecture & scenery. When I step into a new place I observe buildings, space and vegetation to give me an idea of how people live.
I had a scene of feeling that Ghanaians enjoyed a more natural ecosystem, there was always a tree or plant hanging around buildings & homes, there was a lot of space and grass landscape, and the wood, ughh, a lot of buildings and designs were made with wood, beautiful hard & soft wood of all kinds. I sometimes marvel at why Ghanaians choose wood over glass, or marble or Metal but it made living here feel so much at home
Ghana’s Entertainment Scene: Of Azonto and Asake
The most obvious similarity between Ghana & Nigeria is in our music. It's surreal coming here and seeing how much Nigerian Music has permeated the fabric of Ghana’s entertainment industry. Yes, there is great Artiste that has given us international bangers, like Black Sherriff, Sarkodie & Gyarkie, but it's undeniable how influential Nigerian music has become here, not just in Ghana but all over Africa.
and it was in moments when everyone would sing and dance to Nigerian music that I was most proud of my Nigerian Identity. I could think back to 10 years ago, when I was dancing to the popular dance trend, Azonto, and now everyone is dancing to Asake’s Joha.
The Art & Cultural Scene Of Ghana
Art is a variety or should I say a combination of many things. I like to think of Art as all the ways people express themselves and all these channels through which people enjoy themselves. People express themselves through fashion, Clothes, Makeup, Hair, and Designs and use channels like Art, Music, literature, and Hobbies. so, when I try to understand people I ask?
How do they express their unique self through what they wear?
whats Ghana’s art and cultural scene like?
what do they do for fun?
Ghanaian women love to grow their natural hair, and oh my, they have the most beautiful hair. It was a cultural shock coming from a place where Hair accessories were not just the norm, but also a means of grading women’s social status, only to be thrown into a land where, everyone, seems to carry their natural hair, in several forms: dread, large chunks, braids, free form, micro locs.
I would stare in amazement at the beauty of Ghanaian women’s hair, first with the women in my cohort, and then everywhere I turn. I also felt like Ghanaians were used to seeing men growing out their hair, so much so that it is not shocking or used as a social stereotype.
This led me to be curious about why more Ghanaian women choose to go natural, I also had a sense that they were less “make-upy” and stick more to a natural look.
An Observation on Faith & Religious
You never know how religious we are as a people until you step out of Nigeria. I had a feeling that Ghanaians were less religious, when I traveled out of our normal route, I would look out for how many churches I saw on our way, definitely not as many as I see in my home city: Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Definitely not in a country that has pledged to have a church on every street.
In turn, I wonder how this chilled take on religion Influences their daily lives. Being less religious tends to make you more accepting of other people, in my opinion, this also had a part to play in the number of foreigners that felt comfortable living in Ghana.
You kind of get the feeling that Ghanaians would accommodate a variety of lifestyles; young people expressing themselves in non-binary outfits, women in sultry dresses, and men in effeminate outfits. I had a sense that young people will feel more at ease exploring a wider diversity of clothing, without being judged or penalized for it
Ghana’s Food: of Fufu & Ghana Jollof
Chale!
I ate one hot Jollof at MEST, that banged so much that I almost thought they won the Jollof war, it was so good, guy. I love the variety in Ghana’s food. How you can eat a plate of Jollof with stew sauce, green pepper, veggies, fish and garri.
Ghana’s Food is a lot like Nigeria, down to the fruits and drinks. we share similarities in our food taste, we eat soup, fufu, stew, and okra. We even have the same hibiscus tea, called zobo in Nigeria & Sobolo in Ghana. But like everything in Nigeria’s history, we love some extra ginger & spice, so come along with some extra seasoning.
The variety of pineapples I ate here, made me believe in God all over again, they were the juiciest and sweetest I’ve ever tasted, we literally made juices, without adding a sweetener to it, if you’re Nigerian, you won't find Ghanaian food much different from what you eat in Naija
Ghana’s Commerce: Trading & Socialization
There’s no area that shines Ghanaian’s laissez-faire approach to Life more than in commerce. whilst Nigerian markets are like the Jungle: eat or be eaten. Ghanaian traders are more chilled. You go to the market, pick an item and the trader tells you
“eh na 50 cedis”
“Aunty no be 45 cedis”
“ No o, its 50 cedis”
And that’s it. Nothing more, they go sit down and they allow you to continue your search. In Nigeria, there’s a whole process before a transaction is made, first there’s the cajoling from sellers, then they convince you to buy more than you expect, next you haggle the price down to 40%, finally, you make a pact to have a customer-seller relationship
It was also apparent that digital money is widely spread amongst traders in Ghana, everyone uses MoMo to buy & sell, coming from a country where cash is King, it made me wonder how life would look like if the Aboki down the street accepted digital money. Nigeria’s fintech industry still has a long way to go in banking the unbanked
So, there’s that, there’s so much more that I could have captured, but these few will be enough for now. For the next months, I have to live in Ghana, I intend to explore more, live outside Accra, visit beaches, and travel to more tourist centers.
I employ you to join me on a colorful adventure in Ghana
