mic yamoah

I have read with interest Anthony Osarfo’s piece on naming the Ghana movie industry Anansekrom . As a matter of fact, his reasons for suggesting the name sit very well with me. He outlines 5 reasons for his name suggestion: 1.       That Ananse is a legendary fiction character around whom most of Ghana’s folktales. 2.       That Anansekrom is originally Ghanaian 3.       That Ghana does not have a name for the industry 4.       That Ghana shouldn’t follow the wood ‘syndrome’ 5.       That the name the young ones learn from our past. I have been a proponent of a name that readily identifies us as Ghanaians and as such if no less an industry than the movie industry is deviating from the hackneyed wood, I can’t help but rejoice. But sincerely the wood has attained a universal acclaim as an identity for a movie industry. I was v...

Two developments over the weekend have forced me to do something I hardly do publicly- to criticise (the works of) ‘fellow journalists’. The issues have to do with a publication by the Flex newspaper concerning Joselyn Dumas’ ambassadorial role with Range Rover in Ghana, insinuating the deal was a bad one, and the other by Ghanacelebrities.com about a story they carried on their portal that sought to portray that Ghanaian actresses were using black magic in the industry. My concern isn’t so much of the publications themselves, but the aftermath of the publications, especially the comments by the writers of the stories. These stories were the subject of discussions on entertainment review programmes the past week. Discussants had issues with them, raising concerns about the level of reporting. The argument was that the writers could have gone a step further by at least contacting the persons involved in the stories. The Ghanacelebrities.com writer claimed he did, but did not ...

Mr. Asamoah Gyan, you have awakened my writing muses once again. Over the weekend you were trending on twitter, and as a follower, I was hit with the news -taking an indefinite break from the Black Stars because of what you claim is incessant verbal abuse from Ghanaian soccer fans. Is that the real reason? You have been in the news within the week receiving positive reviews after your Foundation’s successful organization of the maiden Sports and Music Jamboree only to deflate this positivity with this bad one. Why? don’t you enjoy good publicity? I am however disappointment in you for taking this thought-through or not too thought-through decision. That is why I have decided to personalize this note to you. And as I write, a brother of yours (Opoku Gyan) is on air trying to justify your decision if you care to know. Mr. Gyan, it appears you always want to be in the news. It is quite good anyway for a star or should I say celebrity? Undoubtedly, you are the most popular and talked-abou...

Ghana had been chasing two main things since the beginning of this year: the Woyome cash and the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) trophy. The latter has eluded us but the pursuit for the cash is on, at least from indications so far. The Black Stars have dealt a big blow to the man; a fifth trophy would have diverted some little attention from him but it wasn’t meant to be. For most Ghanaians the just ended Afcon was theirs for the taking (not because former winners Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon were absent) but they felt it a divine right. For the Ghanaian whose ego is always bloated anytime we enter a tournament, he believes it is by right that we win. Certainly this was compounded by an over complacent and political coach- Goran Stevanovic- who promised to win trophies for Ghana in his first meeting with the press, with his famous declaration: “it’s time for trophies; I’m here to win trophies.” Plavi as he prefers to be called had warmed himself into the hearts of Ghanai...

Friday November 11, 2011 will forever be remembered as an interesting day for most Ghanaians. Certainly not for the centenary celebrations of Accra Hearts of Oak but the supposed prophecy, proclamation or rather the prediction of the renowned prophet of God, Prophet Peter Anamoh, who carries the cognomen, Prophet to the Nations.  His strong stance on the world coming to a disastrous end was more profound than Ghanaians had ever encountered possibly because of the media attention that was given him. For a fact people believed him because of his astuteness in the area of prophesy. He is well noted for predicting Obama’s rise to the White House as well as his coming to Ghana among others (at least as spelled out by himself). He is the authority to be contacted by the media on any issue that bothered on the apocalypse. So he wielded some level of knowledge in these matters. Having followed his views in the media for some time now, I did believe him but I didn’t believe him. I was ope...

pic. courtesy BBC In my previous post i wrote extensively on how the extended family system helps to shape the social direction of Ghanaians in line with my series on The Ghanaian i am reposting the View point of Elizabeth Ohene of the BBC. She writes on how our families cherish the dead to the extent of hijacking the funerals. Her write up amply describes my stance on funerals and the excesses. Let's think about it after all the world is supposed to come to a crushing end today. Who buries who? African viewpoint: Ghanaians fight over the dead  by Elizabeth Ohene source BBC  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15339281 A friend of mine has had a traumatic experience and this has brought the subject of death forcibly to the fore for me. When a Ghanaian dies, the body belongs to the family - that is the legal position. The definition of family, in this case, does not include a spouse or children. So, do not go looking in the dictionary, ...