With Ghana turning 50 this year, Ghanaians the world over have made a deliberate attempt to celebrate Ghana’s achievements and discuss the agenda for the next 50 years. International performance poet Andrew “Tuggstar” Togobo examines how young Ghanaians in the Diaspora can make an impact.

Since 1957, much has changed. The global economy has become a lot more sophisticated. The balance of world power shifted from Europe to the United States, with Asia now lurking in the background. However, perhaps the most significant development has been the increase of the African Diaspora.

Earlier this year, I was funded by the arts council to partake in a project, entitled, From Here to There and Home Again. Part of its aim was for me as a Ghanaian poet based in Britain to use my art to connect with Ghanaians based in Ghana.

My workshops in Legon University and the International Press Centre spawned interesting dialogue. Even though most people had friends and families across generations that were abroad, there was an enormous gap in knowledge as to why Ghanaians initially left Ghana and what their experience as immigrants has been.

I believe history is a living breathing thing contained in all of us. And the significance of a milestone such as Ghana’s 50th independence is that we have generations who lived in that moment of history, mixing with a younger generation who immortalise that same period. My father was part of the early wave of students who were sent abroad. That in itself is history. So for me to understand that period, I didn’t need to look much further then my own family.

The agenda for students like my father, who were recipients of Nkrumah’s scholarships, were to attend European Universities and gain the necessary skills needed for the development of Africa. However, every year since, there has been an influx of Africans to European and American countries, not necessarily with the intent of returning.

Consequently, the population of the African and Ghanaian Diaspora is booming. There are Ghanaian children born all over the globe. While this potential may be great, I find that Ghanaians wherever they are have more question than answers. While being in Ghana, I got the sense that some people believed the development of Ghana is a role only for those at home. There was an underlying sense of being abandoned by the Ghanaians abroad. It was significant that President Kufuor in his Independence Address mentioned the importance of the Ghanaian Diaspora and of making the country so attractive that professionals do not feel they have to leave. I believe the Ghanaian Diaspora is a sleeping giant that needs to awaken and to utilise their global locale like the Asians (Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese and Japanese) have done.

As a poet, I have taken this mission to heart. I am attempting to use my skills in telling stories to remind Ghanaians both in Britain and Ghana that we are still Ghanaian, we are still relevant, and beyond sending back money for families, ask ‘how can we make an impact that could really shake this world?’ I believe this is the important question of our time.

I believe the first generation born abroad holds a significant part of the answer. Being born in the Diaspora gives them the benefits that their parents didn’t have; access to British society and an instant understanding of the multi-cultural climate. But, being that their parents are migrants, they also have an instant connection to their home nations.

Part of my Arts Council project involved working with film maker Sonia Godding. We put together a short film to accompany a poem which tackles all the above issues. It creatively connects the plight of the Ghanaian Diaspora with the Ghanaian at home, and the impact independence and its subsequent failure had on the first Diasporic generations.

During the reign of Kwame Nkrumah, the arts were seen as a tool. Nkrumah understood the power of using cultural artists to help propagate the celebration of the African personality. Artists have the ability to convey powerful socio-political messages to an audience who may otherwise not be interested.

The artists are still here, work still needs to be done. I hope you get a chance to enjoy the video, and put this artist to work.

www.myspace.com/tuggstar (to watch the video)

www.tuggstarthepoetman.com (for more information)

Tuggstar is an international performance poet, who mixes history and politics in his art. He has won{mosimage} many awards for his work and currently has 2 releases. 1) The Way of the Word (book) and The Africa E.P: From Here to There and Home Again. (C.D)