Konnected Minds Podcast

Segment: Navigating the Move to Ghana: Identity, Education, and Cultural Transformation

• Derrick Abaitey

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What happens when returning to the motherland reveals both immense promise and deep-seated challenges? This heart-to-heart conversation unpacks the complex realities of relocating to Ghana, moving far beyond practical logistics to examine the psychological and cultural hurdles awaiting diaspora returnees.

The discussion reveals how colonial mindsets continue to shape Ghana's development, creating a painful disconnect between the country's historical greatness and current struggles. We explore how traditional education systems often fail to nurture critical thinking, with graduates entering the workforce lacking essential skills needed to compete globally. Most troubling is the persistent belief among many Ghanaians that anything African is inherently inferior—a mental barrier that undermines progress at every level.

Yet this conversation isn't about despair but transformation. We delve into the historical connections between Ghana and Black American leaders like W.E.B. Du Bois and Martin Luther King Jr., who recognized Ghana's significance in pan-African movements. We share powerful strategies for reclaiming African excellence, from highlighting the scientific achievements of Timbuktu to reshaping how young people view their heritage and potential. The speaker's NGO work demonstrates how combining identity reclamation with practical business skills creates leaders capable of addressing Ghana's challenges from a place of cultural pride and innovation.

For anyone considering returning to Ghana or interested in Africa's renaissance, this episode provides essential insights into the mental shifts required to navigate both the beauty and challenges of the continent. Subscribe to join our journey of changing lives through these crucial conversations, and share your thoughts on rebuilding African identity beyond colonial limitations.

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Speaker 1:

I think the third thing is I give an actual timeline of like from the time you decide I'm going to move, a checklist of ID, bank account, this, this, like. I literally lay out the steps of what you need to do if you're going to relocate, so determining if you're going to visit or you want to move permanently. You know whether it's a year or two years. The second thing is that guide on asking questions when renting a home in ghana. That in itself is worth the book. And then the third thing, that checklist. I tell you exactly what you need to do from start to finish, when you want to idealize the move, to actually executing the move.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so I'll tell you something right, there's a couple that spoke to me um some time back and the man had been, you know, talking to someone about a land in ghana. And then, you know, the agent said oh, there's a beautiful land in a brie. You know the family paid for it, you know they paid for everything and then he got the land. Now the time comes when the, the husband and wife, were coming to ghana for holidays, so they decided to go and have a look at the land, not knowing that is way away from a breed somewhere in mapong. When the woman got there, he said this is the land you bought. You know, if this is the land, then I'm not interested. So now they had to go back, find another money to come and buy, you know, another land for the family.

Speaker 2:

So it's very important that you take some of the tips that you, you know Tim is gonna give you on your move to Ghana. Fantastic. Now let's talk about the wahala, some of the wahalas that you've had ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha ha.

Speaker 1:

Where do you want to start? Let me say, the biggest wahala is, I think, adjusting my mind, because I love the continent so much that, again, I see it as, I see it as a place of refuge, I see it as a place of destiny and I see it as a place of refuge. I see it as a place of destiny and I see it as a place of legacy and, with that in mind, I think that again, like the example of having a brother or sister with so much potential, and it's like you see them and you see them doing foolish things, you're like ah, you're so smart, how are you doing these things? The biggest wahala is my mind of like when I look at Ghana right, and I go back to even how we've had these pan-African connections. You know, dr Martin Luther King was there at the inauguration when Nkrumah right was being installed, as you know, the first president of the Republic of Ghana, you know, on this day, right in 1957. When you look at people like WEB Du Bois, who was a prolific activist, leader, scholar, in not just black America but in history, and how he relocated to Ghana right, he's buried here today. So there's been these linkages because people have seen something that's really significant.

Speaker 1:

So for me, the biggest Wahala is when I look at the country of Ghana and I see what it could be. But then you see some of the foolishness, the basics for example, our education system and you look at how some of our children are graduating from university, the practical skills like critical thinking, taking initiative, being able to do research, and they paid all of this money for a university degree but they don't know how to do anything. It's disappointing when you look at some of our schools, even within a crowd, and you go there and you see the state of the school and oftentimes it's deplorable. You understand. Those are the types of wahalas that really make me feel a certain way. It's not the person cheating me for five cities, ten cities.

Speaker 1:

I know how to navigate this. It's not the police officer who wants to—me. I know how to navigate this. It's not the police officer who wants to me. I know how to navigate these things. It's the bigger issues that impact not just African-Americans or Boga or Brunies, but it's the issues that impact us as citizens of the continent and as citizens of the world. So these are the wahalas that I look at that really burden my soul of like how can we do something about these things? You get me.

Speaker 2:

Let me stop you here for a minute. If you've been watching this show, I want you to subscribe and become part of the family. We are on a journey of changing the lives of people on this channel and we appreciate you for being here. But if you haven't become part of the family, connect with us, hit the subscribe button and let's carry on the conversation.

Speaker 2:

I was at the office yesterday and where I had not been there for like three months and they employed two more people. The manager did that I wasn't aware of because the workload was, you know, going up. And you know, in the meeting I said you know what? I want to take two of you to my office to do, you know, some product management for the company. And these ladies came. So we had a discussion. I put two laptops in front of them, started showing them they didn't even know where the start button is. They do, hmm. Now, at this point I was like okay, do you think you guys can do this? This was the point they all said now, we can't. We just realized that we don't have the skills and I said are you willing to learn? I can teach you. Mm-hmm. These times I'm talking to a 28 year old and a 34 year old mm-hmm and they don't know how to use a computer.

Speaker 2:

So it took a lot of work and a lot of mental programming to make them understand that what I'm teaching them is what they missed out about 20 years ago you get me.

Speaker 1:

That's the thing, that's the wahala that saddens my soul when I look at how many of our youth, if we want to talk about that's not our culture and this and this and that, let's, let's get down and talk about it. When we talk about even things like discipline, sometimes we laugh at how certain people treat their children, but I asked myself if this is our culture, the way we do certain things not all things, but certain things, even the way sometimes we beat our children, all of these things shut up, you just listen, you don't have to say anything in this house. All of these types of ways. What does it actually produce when someone who's 28, who may have a university degree, you understand, who knows how to say yes, I know, sir, yes mommy, yes, daddy, and there's nothing wrong with respect, though, but you've beaten the identity out of them. So now, when it comes to even learning how to speak up for themselves, to ask questions and all of these things, they don't know how to do it. You go to them, you give them an opportunity. Okay, what questions do you have? You have an opportunity, opportunity, oh, we don't have any questions about anything. No, sir, you are their boss, so you are supposed to tell us what to do? Hey, are you sure? But then how can you compete in a global market? The reality is, the skills that you're learning today Was the skills that most of the world has learned 20 years ago. That's the wahala that saddens my soul. So now, just to take the time to catch you up by While the world is going here. So, and it's because of the way you look at, our education system is true and poor. It's be seen and not heard, all of these things.

Speaker 1:

So even that's why we have the NGO Indy Daso, right, we partner. We partner with folks who've been in the trenches, right, those Ghanaians, those Africans who've been in the trenches, who understand the education system, who are working to change it. We partner with those individuals to bring different sets of skills. The thing that we bring that's a little bit different is the identity piece, because sometimes we just bring the skills where we don't bring the identity. When you liberate the African mind, then you can transform the world, because what good does it do to have someone who's a millionaire but they still see everything in Africa as inferior? What would that person do when it's time for them to set up a business. Now, granted, I empathize with business folks here, because when you talk about distribution and like, it can get difficult, but when you talk about someone who may be in a position of authority and power, now you're a millionaire, but you don't see. You see, everything in Africa is inferior Everything.

Speaker 1:

So now you won't take the time to empower local artisans, you won't take the time to even hire people and train them. You will buy things. You will take your money and buy house and car from the US or the UK. So what's the purpose of teaching you all these skills if it doesn't translate back to the continent to help other people? So for us, we focus on identity teaching you that you know.

Speaker 1:

When you look at, for example, timbuktu, people came from all over the world to be trained in math and science. Those were Africans, these folks who build the pyramids, scientists to today, with PhDs, are still trying to manage. How did they do it? Even to the point where people who have PhDs will say that it was built by extraterrestrials. Less than three percent of the population in the US have a PhD. So this is the most educated people who cannot ascertain that Africans have built a system and a structure that is so sophisticated that it is still standing to this day. So we will ascribe extraterrestrials who have done it, you understand. So when you help some of these young Africans that we empower, understand that this is your lineage, right, as you've mentioned right.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes from birth we are programmed to believe that Africa is inferior, the whole continent is inferior and the West is superior. But we have to reverse that and we have to show them the beauty of Ghana first. You know, sometimes people have never left their region, and I understand why. And that's the same thing in most parts of the world. In the US, the average person who lives in an underdeveloped, poor neighborhood only travels about 15 miles outside of where they live. That's what research says. So it's just not a phenomenon that's unique to Ghana. It's a phenomenon that happens around.

Speaker 1:

So we first try to help them understand your lineage of where you come from. As an African, you have been great throughout history. Here's some beauty about Ghana. So we start reshaping your mind. Then we teach you, as we're teaching you business now. We teach you to do things with excellence, not just anyhow, because now, when you do it with excellence already, you're going to be way above most of your peers. Now you can charge more because you have an excellent product and you do excellent service that you can deliver on. So it's going to help meet your economic need. It's going to help meet a need in the marketplace and it's going to help you reinvest in a community because you there's somebody like you that's waiting on you to do something about the problems that you saw. You get me. So for me, it's all about how can we help people to be the next generation of leaders that we complain about right now, today you think even the local guardians have got identity problems absolutely 1,000 percent, 1,000 percent, 1,000 percent.

Speaker 1:

Oh, not all, not most, but a lot. What makes you say it? Look at the way we're trained in school. You, even you.

Speaker 1:

I don't know what you said in tree, right, but there's an old phrase that says that if you're on your way to church and you see a white man, you can go home because you've seen God. Mm, hmm. So there's a theologian by the name of Dr William Augustus Jones. He said that our theology determines our anthropology and our anthropology determines our sociology. So this is what it means the way we see God determines how we see each other, and how we see each other determines how we structure our society. See each other determines how we structure our society. So if I see God as someone that doesn't look like me as a European right, that's going to determine how I treat my fellow black man and how I treat the O'Bruny when he comes, you understand? So if the way I'm treating my fellow black man in O'Bruny when he comes is like this, that's going to determine how I structure my business, how I structure my communities, how I set up my fares and my taxi, when I charge O'Brindy this price versus the other person. All of these things is stemmed on how we see each other.

Speaker 1:

So when you ask the question, absolutely a lot of us have this problem. Even if you go to our education system right, our education system is still the british curriculum. That does not reinforce african heritage, lineage and pride. Even if you look at a lot of our commercials and adverts on television, it really there's a subconscious, you know messaging, that says that we're, that we're inferior, and we and we believe it when we come together. Oh, that's how we do in Ghana. Things are inferior. Oh, we don't have to do things with excellence. That's not everyone you understand, but the idea is that we're Africans.

Speaker 1:

What can we do? I even have one of my, my individuals. Again, it depends on education and exposure, how you see yourself and how you see the world. But if you talk, you talk about average Ghanaians. I've had conversations, for example, average people who are 28, 30 years old but relatively no education, maybe just they've graduated SHS but haven't been exposed to just different types of people, and they've said things to me like you know, you know, even you know. We talk about a child, a white man, telling these people they are so smart to us Africans. What can we do?

Speaker 2:

Wow.