How I spent Ghana's birthday on March 6, 2024 - #IMGBT

March 6 is a very important date for me. I think you know why. March 23 is also very important. You might not know why. It's not because it is the date I am writing this blog post. It is because it is 23-3, the date. You get it now? 233. #233moments. This is the date within #HeritageMonth that I chose to write about what I did on the date for which March is also called #GhanaMonth. I had a memorable day. 

I wanted to go for the #HeritageCaravan this year. But even though I carved out the time; time, chance, expenses, responsibilities happened to it. I remember how I shouted "No, No, No" when I heard on the Citi Breakfast Show one morning in January that it was sold out. I'd come back to that in another blog post. I spent the first weekend in March in Elmina due to family engagements, great way to start the month actually. I kept wondering what I would do for Ghana's birthday. I was not going to attend the parade, I listed many reasons around that in an article I wrote with Etse Sikanku, my fellow Odadee. I was not going to do what I hope more Ghanaians would wake up (to do in a typical day), because this is a holiday. I would have loved to stay at home, but one thing ensured I needed to go out, so I added more things. Summarized below.

On March 6, I eventually turned on my TV and tuned into Citi TV to see what I was missing out on for the Heritage Caravan (this one-in-a-lifetime tourism trip around Ghana to experience the culture, etc). Interestingly, they were showing the Independence Day parade. I am not sure why this surprised me, lol. Do you know why? I moved on, and stayed watching this on Citi TV, while doing some work, being on social media, etc. What are my thoughts on the parade? You really want to know? You didn't read our article yet? Here it is, again. I kept an eye on when I needed to be at other places in Accra, progressing through some to-dos. 

In 2012, thanks to a conversation with my mentor Paa Kwesi Imbeah, we come up with "I Made Ghana Better Today" - #IMGBT. Through the years of National Volunteer Day (#NVDay), I have started giving free rides to people who might be traveling along routes I am driving - especially in September. In 2023, I took it a new level and 2024 is continuing that unabated. I stopped at a trotro stop along the Dodowa-Adenta road to pick some folks. 2 handymen joined the #vimride, saying they would alight at 37, as I was headed to Labone. Naturally, we had some conversations, about Ghana, their work, the difficulty and costs involved in public transport in today's Ghana, at 67 years old. After alighting them at the 37 troski stop, I called the folks at Brown Sugar Lounge for some landmarks. Yes, Google Maps has emerged as our go-to-directions platform in modern-day Gold Coast, but sometimes I just like to place short phone calls.

I arrived at Brown Sugar Lounge and sought out Efe Keyz. She had organized a Karaoke, Sip & Paint event there as part of Ghana's Independence Day celebrations. She's a musician, an entrepreneur running El's Foods Ghana and an AccraKonnect member. I wanted to support the event, and the karaoke part is something I thoroughly enjoy. We spent some time getting to know each other more. I learnt that she was a KNUST Alumni & spent many years in Kumasi. We talked about Kumasi's development especially from a lifestyle and economic point of view. Brown Sugar. Brown Sugar Lounge is cool, they have nice paintings & inscriptions to excite any Pan-African. It's just sad that some of the things on the menu I would have bought were not available. 

I proceeded to the top floor of the Lounge and get started on the painting. Efe sent me 3 images for me to choose one to draw and paint. I am not sure why I was surprised that the images were Ghanaian maps and the flag. "Oh snap! It is Ghana's birthday. It is March 6th". As I write this, today is March 23rd (23-3). I chose this Ghana map image (of our 16 regions) to draw & paint. A few minutes later. I then realised I had totally underestimated the level of work involved in drawing and painting this Ghana map. There was an artist on hand to help me, Kingsley of Okasa Arts. Chale! It took more than 23.3 minutes to finish drawing the map o! The North East region drawing was the hardest lol. And I used to be a top artist in primary school - KNUST Primary). 

If the drawing was hard, the painting would be cool blue chop right? "Not so fast Ato. You are about to be late for your next appointment". The difficulty in painting was the colour mixing and ensuring the colours had a good enough hue (yes, I know about colours my guy) for the painting to come out nicely. Put some respect on the names of artists and painters, like my wife Tracy too, she is also a painter in her free time. Purple Red. Purple Blue. Some type of green. Some type of yellow. No ruby colour though for the 40 year-olds. I kept mixing colours with the paintbrushes and washing the brushes in water that the colour of the water became the same as the cocktail I had ordered from Brown Sugar Lounge. It looked like a pinkish, yellowish colour. I had asked for a #MadeInGhana cocktail. 

The drawing and painting took me past 6:30pm. No, I did not choose to draw & paint a Ghana map because of the Heritage Caravan. What was I doing or thinking about 4 hours earlier around 2:33pm? #233moments. I had to participate in the karaoke! This was the first time I was seeing Efe Keyz sing live. What a voice! Even if if I swallowed whole eggs more than 23 times a year for 2.33 years, I still would not have a voice like that. But when I have drank one Orijin and I decide to sing in karaoke, I am a great singer o! Especially when it is My Name by Stonebwoy, Kiss Your Hand Remix by R2Bees & Wande Coal, or Hold Me Down by Akwaboah, TXT & Efya. I did justice to the lyrics, with lots of backing vocals. I bid Efe goodbye to catch my next appointment. 

Clap for yourself if you guessed that I would stop at a trotro stop on my way from Labone to East Legon to give more free rides. I picked 4 ladies from the Maxmart 37 stop, and they all alighted at the Shiashie stop because I was headed to the Gallery Apartments. That is where I met Peace. Not the peace many Ghanaians would be celebrating in this 2024 election year where #GhanaDecides o. Peace, my Togolese friend who I first met in Burkina Faso. She's working on a mental health related NGO and came to Ghana to visit similar organizations, including Clubhouse Ghana which is run by another #AccraKonnect member - M L Brookshire. The Gallery Apartment be nice papa! Good stuff. I met some Francophone women near the reception who looked like they were going to chill somewhere. I intentionally asked them if I have arrived. They didn't look too pleased. Peace was very pleased to see me though :-)

Peace and I caught up on what we'd both been up to, and our organizations' work. It made me think about mental health support groups in Ghana. It made me think about my lack of French, which is still better than my Portuguese, Hausa and Ga but on a similar level to my Kiswahili. We talked about our meetings in Ouagadougou and FESPACO (the main reason I went to the Upper Volta). We talked about my only visit to Lome and how I should visit again this year. I am giving it serious thought. I caught up on the number of tertiary institutions in Togo now, and the mall(s) to go to Togo for. here

I left East Legon for home; not a beach, party or spot. I chose to use the East-Legon UPSA highway (okay, it's not a highway, but maybe sometime before Ghana's 70th birthday?). I stopped at KikiBee's, not to party, but to #volunteeringh to give more free rides. The lady I picked up was called Angela. This was a first. Another lady I had picked this same Independence celebration week was also called Angela. Ebe so. Please, I do not mean I picked her up like at a club or something, I mean I gave her a ride. Okay, not like I rode her, but drove her while she was in my car. Wait, okay this is not working. I mean that I gave her a lift. I dropped her off around Madina Social Welfare, and did not pick anyone else until I got home.

I did not drink Orijin when I got home. I watched some TV like I normally do, especially sports & music videos. I don't remember most of the #MusicWeDeyFeel I listened to, but I do know a song that was ringing in my head that whole day was one by Okyeame Kwame & Kidi called Made In Ghana. Not a typical day at all but a very memorable one.