THE AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS IN ANGOLA: A PREVIEW

The prying eyes of the world will be on Africa (for football reasons though) this weekend and throughout the month as its premier football showpiece kicks off. With the desirable record of being the first winners in a new decade firmly at the back of the minds of all participating teams; this biennial football fiesta which would take place in Angola promises to be keen, exhilarating and competitive.

Playing hosts for the first time in the history of the Orange African Cup of Nations, the Palancras Negras of Angola would be hoping to achieve what the Black Stars of Ghana failed to do in the last edition by winning the trophy on home soil. A stern test stands in the way of this dream from group competitors Mali, Algeria and Malawi.

Despite failing to make the FIFA World Cup, the Eagles from Mali go into this tournament as one of the must- watched teams. Coached by one of the present best African tacticians, Stephen Keshi, the likes of Frederic Kanoute, Seydou Keita and Mahamadou Diarra can turn the fate of matches the Malian way on any given day. Algeria would be seeking to prove a point that their qualification ahead of Egypt to South Africa in June was no fluke. A strong performance would not only reinstate their African football prowess but also go a long way in boosting their morale for the World Cup. Nations Cup whipping boys Malawi completes this interesting and unpredictable group.

It’s a West African affair in the Cabinda based Group B. Touted as the “Group of Death” of the tournament; the Black Stars of Ghana, the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire and the Hawks of Togo would be battling for West African supremacy. Much as they would be battling themselves, these West African giants seek to win the coveted trophy that has eluded any West African nation since Nigeria won it in Tunisia in 1994.

The Didier Drogba led Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire come into the tournament as the huge favourites. And rightly so! Take into account the talents they have in Barcelona’s Yaya Toure, Manchester City’s captain Kolo Toure, Salomon Kalou of Chelsea and the many others who are performing creditably well in their respective European clubs. However, more often than not, this favourites tag has turned out to be a curse in disguise for teams in the past. The bulky nature and physical strengths of the Burkinabe would pose a threat and Togo would do what they love best: being the bogey boys. Much cannot be said of the Black Stars winning their fifth Nations Cup title in Angola because injuries to most of its key players, however, the hunger for success on the part of the bulk naïve players in the squad
cannot be underemphasized.

One would be right in easily picking Nigeria and defending champions Egypt to make it to the quarterfinals out of Group C that would be based in Angola’s second most famous city and self- appointed cultural capital, Benguela. Yet Mozambique and Benin would be no pushovers in the group. ‘The Mamba’ of Mozambique dramatically eliminated Tunisia from World Cup participation in South Africa on the last day of the qualifiers and with veteran players like Tico Tico still strutting their stuff for the national team, they look set in causing another stir in this tournament. In an interview with BBC, Beninois striker Razak Omotoyossi was quoted as saying the Nations Cup in Angola would be platform for the Eagles of Benin to upset the odds. Having not made it to quarterfinals before, he believes they are strong contenders now due to their team spirit, attacking football and the perception that they are minnows.

Group D concludes what is set to be an interesting tournament with four-time champions Cameroun battling it out with Gabon, Zambia and perennial contenders Tunisia. Gabon and Cameroun will rekindle their recent World Cup qualifiers rivalry where the Indomitable Lions of Cameroun pipped the Azingo National to qualification. Tunisia would be looking to get over their recent World Cup ache and add another title to the trophy they last won in 2004. Captain Rigobert Song would love to put his last Nations Cup nightmare (his mistake led to Egypt’s lone goal in the finals in Ghana two years ago) behind him as leads a young Indomitable Lions comprising the of enterprising Arsenal midfielder Alex Song, Stephen Mbia of Olympique Marseille and Nicholas Nkoulou of AS Monaco to glory.

Egypt would be seeking to achieve an unprecedented three consecutive Nations Cup triumphs. The five African teams who have qualified for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa would also be looking forward of being African Champions going into an African World Cup. The minnows as usual would be looking for significant upsets. With all these prospects expected to unfold this month in the land of the “Palancras Negras”, Angola 2010 would be more than interesting!

BLACK STARS DARE NOT FAIL US IN ANGOLA!

It was in a stadium called ‘Ohene Djan’ opposite the famous Black Stars Square in Accra that witnessed the last winners of the prestigious African Nations Cup. Now called the Orange African Cup of Nations due to sponsorship reasons; its new winners will be known in the land of the Palancas Negras – the Portuguese name of the rare Black Antelopes in Angola. And it will be in ‘Estádio 11 de Novembro’ in Luanda on the 31st of January to be precise, and as usual the Black Stars of Ghana will be there to participate.
Yet, the African Nations Cup, which commences in the next few weeks, lacks in reportage as the aura and anticipation of participating in an ‘African’ World Cup in Mzansi (South Africa) by the Black Stars dominates the mainstream Ghanaian media. And yeah, the conflict of loyalty that will arise when the Stars lace up their boots to battle Coach Milovan Rajevac’s Serbia in Pretoria on June 13 dominates, too.
On that cold night in far away Tripoli, twenty-seven years ago, when the George Alhassan and Opoku Afriyie led Black Stars won the fourth Nations Cup for Ghana; I reckon many of the current sports journalists or those charlatans parading themselves as such were neither born nor old enough to vividly remember the team’s starting eleven. Therefore, another Nations Cup trophy for mother Ghana is long overdue!
Significantly, this hunger for another continental title by the many soccer-crazed Ghanaians falls squarely on the shoulders of arguably the luckiest and most pampered Black Stars squad Ghana has ever produced (I used lucky advisedly). The ‘fat’ bonuses, the numerous sponsorship packages—Goldfields, Guinness Ghana, MTN, and Glo—and the support of all the major stakeholders in the football fraternity towards this Stephen Appiah led Black Stars is unprecedented in this country.
However, they are yet to win a major accolade for Ghana (the Four Nation Tournament they won in 2007 is not recognized by CAF, neither is FIFA). Before you ‘crucify’ me as being unfair towards the team—they were the first to qualify Ghana to the World Cup, right?—let me set some records straight.
No one can take the honour from the players and its technical team for it was through their zeal and perseverance that took us to our first global showpiece, but should that be the only yardstick to measure the success of a team that boasts of so many talents? Also, should we be overwhelmed by such a feat by a country that won its fourth Nations Cup as far back as 1982? And, the Black Stars are not the first nation to make it out of the group stages at their maiden appearance in the FIFA World Cup as Cameroun and Senegal have already blazed that trail and even better by beating then World Champions in Argentina and France, respectively. Methinks it is rather unfortunate to say the least that we managed to qualify for the World Cup seventy-five (75) years after its inception. Hence our qualification was rather a must and must be seen as such!
The core of this team has been around since 2004 (we failed to make it to the Nations Cup in Tunisia that year), however, its stuttering performances in 2004 and in early 2006 can be pardoned by many Ghanaian soccer enthusiasts since the team can be termed as being in a rebuilding process after the change of baton from C.K Akunnor to Stephen Appiah. So after close to six years of playing together as a unit, there will be no better time for the Black Stars to deliver Ghana another Nations Cup trophy in this century. The host and win in 2008? Needless to say, we hosted and delivered the trophy to Egypt.
The expectant news—yes, because I expected it—that the current ‘face’ of Ghanaian soccer on the globe, Michael Essien is injured and will miss the Nations Cup in Angola comes as a big blow. But this injury to Ghana’s ‘most’ loyal player (pun unintended) shouldn’t be used as a recipe for failure by Coach Milo and his boys. I said this from experience. Few weeks to the Nations Cup in Egypt in 2006, Essien got injured from what many Ghanaians think was orchestrated by the then Chelsea boss, Jose Mourinho against Tottenham. Subsequent injuries to Asamoah and Sulley derailed the Stars train and couldn’t make it from a group that comprised Nigeria, Senegal and Zimbabwe.
Though that misfortune turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Ghana’s performance the World Cup later in that year, a similar performance of the Black Stars in CAN 2006 in Angola would be totally unacceptable!
Prior to the day when Black Stars Captain Emmanuel Quarshie lifted Ghana’s fourth Nations Cup trophy in Tripoli, Libya, the Pharaohs of Egypt had only won the trophy twice and the Indomitable Lions of Cameroun who is now at as Ghana with four trophies apiece hadn’t won any. Therefore, we can’t decide to rest on our laurels and live on past glories because the last time I checked, our country is not called England and our national team is called the Black Stars not Three Lions.
No disrespect to the prowess of the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroun, the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire, the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the other perennial Nations Cup giants; but the Black Stars dare not to bring the Cup home from Angola. If they do, succinctly one thing describes them: they are underachievers and rightly so!

OLD SKUUL REUNION 09

Sitting pretty at the top of Ghana’s social calendar over the past few years, this year’s annual Joy FM ‘Old Skuul Reunion’ lived its billing and hype when it came off successfully at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre in Accra.
After Joy FM had whet the appetite of attendants in their ‘jama’ contests by the various schools on their ‘Super Morning Show’ few weeks to the event, thousands of party rave heads from all walks of life thronged the Trade Fair to be part of this ground-breaking event.
Many schools from the length and breadth of the nation did all kinds of gimmicks for them to be easily recognized, however, the school which stood out tall and caught the most attention is Sakawa Sec. Tech. I am sure you might be wondering location of that school’s premises, but look no further if you spot any internet café because that is the school. Students of this ‘money making’ school displayed memorabilia’s like computer monitors, keyboards, mock coffin amongst others to the shock of many attendants.
It was an ‘Old Skuul Reunion’ indeed as majority of the artistes that mounted that gigantic Joy FM stage to treat the insatiable crowd at the Trade Fair Centre in La was of the ‘old school’ generation of the hiplife music genre in Ghana.
Among the ‘old’ faces that performed were Obrafour and Kontihene. Having been on the low since his last track ‘Heavy’ with Kofi B about three years ago, the man born Kwabena Okyere Darko and also known as ‘Ghana Rap Sofuo’ treated the crowd to hits after hits from his discography. From ‘Yaanom’, a song from his maiden album, ‘Pae Mu Ka’, to Kwame Nkrumah and the most recent ‘Heavy’, Obrafour left an impression on the crowd that he might be dormant at the moment but a big force to reckon with when it comes to stage performances and hiplife in GH.
Kontihene also made a case for the older generation of hiplifers in what looked like the old against the contemporary regarding artiste on the bill. He exhibited glimpses of his former self as the crowd sang along with him. Kwaw ‘King of the Streets’ Kesse, Sarkodie and Bradez represented the new faces.

Busta Rhymes Rocks GH

Having collaborated over the years to bring international artistes—Jay –Z, Shaggy, Kevin Little, Wayne Wonder amongst others—to mesmerize party raves in Ghana, events powerhouse Charterhouse and telecommunications giants MTN did it again by flying Brooklyn born MC, Busta Rhymes, to do a concert in commemoration of MTN’s 2nd Anniversary.
Starting two hours late albeit the 8pm stipulated, the concert at the Accra International Conference Centre was also used to celebrate Ghana’s second World Cup qualification of which MTN are the lead sponsors. Introduced by the master of ceremonies, Eddie Blay Jnr as the dynamic duo, Kwaku-T and D Black kick started the performances on the night with their two singles, “Move” and “Breathe” off their “Target Practice” album.
Backed by the dexterous Andy Dosty on the turn tables, the self titled best rapper alive, Okyeame Kwame had the half filled auditorium on their feet throughout his military choreographed performance. With arguably the hottest song in GH currently belonging to them, different kinds of cell phones and cameras were on display in the auditorium to capture the moment when 4X4 mounted the stage. Led by the silky voiced Fresh Prince, the group, clad in matching yellow jackets and sagged denims wowed the crowd throughout their performance.
The ladies turned on the fashion style on the night. The bevy of beautiful girls who thronged the Conference Centre to watch Busta Rhymes live displayed some real exotic fashion sense by wearing off the hook apparels. He started by performing renditions of various hip hop classics before coming to his tunes, however, MTN Music Icon Samini didn’t impress. With DJ Pepsi churning hits after hits from his discography, it was apparent that Samini has lost his flavour as the crowd was totally unfazed throughout his performance.
There couldn’t be a better prelude performance to Busta’s than that of his GH version, Sarkodie Obidi. Walking on stage with a buddy who was holding a wall clock to prove Sarkodie’s lyrical pace, he received the loudest applause of all the local artistes on the night. Tongue-twisting rapper Sarkodie proved why he is fast becoming fans favourite with an intense energy filled performance.
With the indefatigable DJ Black whetting the appetite of the now near filled auditorium with hits across the globe for some minutes, tattooed Busta Rhymes made a grand appearance on stage with his Flip Mode Entertainment protégé, Spliff Star and a hefty bodyguard. At exactly 40 minutes past midnight, Busta Rhymes alongside Spliff Star turned the auditorium on ‘fire’.
Born Trevor Taheim Smith Jr, Busta categorized his performances into three sections on the night—the retro classics, love duets and songs from the current album titled “Back on my BS”. Most popular in GH in the mid 90’s, the song ‘Dangerous’ from his second album “When Disaster Strikes” went down well with crowd. They sang lyric after lyric with the energized Busta Rhymes who couldn’t help but keep thanking the fans for coming out to watch him in his maiden performance in Accra.
Reveling in the frenzy and ecstatic atmosphere at the auditorium, many of the attendants were engaged in a battle of strength in front of the stage with their various digital cameras and cell phones to film Busta’s performance. Some even went to the extent of climbing the stage just to have a feel of the “Just Make It Clap” star.
After an intense one hour of performances of hits after hits, Busta finally brought the curtains down on the memorable night by proposing imaginary toasts to the organizers, his fans who came to see him live and the sitting first African American President of the United States, Barack Obama. He promised the insatiable crowd in the auditorium one thing before he bowed out: “I will be back”.

SAGGED JEANS: THE TRUTH BEHIND IT

It is rare for one to take a stroll through town, in recent times, without either spotting two out of five guys either in sagged denims or whatever shorts they are wearing and it seems this bug has bitten contemporary Ghanaian ladies in recent memory as they have adopted the sagging ‘flavour’.
Sagging is the practice of wearing a pair of trousers or shorts below the waist so as to reveal some or all the wearer’s underwear. Sagging is commonly reported in the media as having originated from the prohibition of belts for prisoners. Belts were banned because they could be used to commit suicide by hanging, to strangle others or as a weapon in a fight.
It is believed that this phenomenon caught up with the Ghanaian youth in the late eighties and early nineties. The term “Otto Pfister” as it is called in local parlance came about during the tenure of German Otto Pfister as coach of various national teams in Ghana. Known for his chain smoking, Otto Pfister was at the helm of affairs when the Black Starlets won the FIFA Youth Cup in Italy in 1991 and also led the Black Stars to second place finish at the African Cup of Nations in Senegal, 1992.
Despite his success with Ghana, this is a man who invariably has his trousers below his waist line. He rarely pulls his trousers up and it seems many of the youth at the time of his tenure adopted this style of dressing and has lived on as the ladies have also joined the fray. It is not only at nightclubs ladies are seen sagging.
Going by the women’s coinage of sagging as: “I am aware”, sagged trousers by women looks more serious than guys as many either refuse to wear ‘undies’ when they sag or wear a “G-string” types which lay bare their bums.
Sagging in Ghana can also be attributed to infiltration of cultures or vogue. The hip-hop culture in the Western world can be partly if not wholly blamed for sagging in Ghana. Most of the American rappers expose their boxers by sagging either in stage performances or award shows. With many of the youth having hip-hop artistes as role models, needless to say - they definitely copy their sagging style of dressing.
The hip-life music genre also plays a key role in the “Otto Pfister” trend amongst the youth and young artistes. A lot of youth seem to believe: one has to follow the status quo to thrive in this industry and only a few have succeeded without dressing in hip-hop or gangster fashion (whatever you will like to call it). Wearing baggy trousers, big medallions and dressing in flashy clothes has even become the norm in many self-acclaimed neighbourhoods for one to be accepted among one’s peers.
Sagging comes in two types - either to wear the trousers or shorts below the waistline with tightened belt or to let the belt loose to enable the trouser fall below the waistline. In this type, one has to pull the trousers up quite often.
Several reasons have been attributed to this Western style of dressing but What’s On decided to find answers to this question: what will prompt someone to sag? It is amazing some of the responses from people especially, the youth about why they will sag or why they need to sag. Senior high school graduate Evans said: “I don’t feel comfortable when my trousers are not below my waist line because I have worn it like that for a couple of years now”. Wannabe rapper, Don Winsky, was of another view of why one needs to sag: “sagging portrays you in a certain light and that shows you really know what’s going on. Also to become the rapper I want to be, I need to dress this way and that’s wassup”.
Popular radio and television presenter, Kofi Okyere Darko, was of the view that people have different reasons for sagging. “I think we have different types of jeans or trousers where some have loose waistlines therefore you don’t get any option than to wear it below the waist line. Also some copy it from rappers in the Western world”.
From a ladies viewpoint: Ellen thinks women are also into it more due to the fact that: “It is something that’s in vogue. It has come to the forefront these days because most of the shorts and trousers on the market for women are either loose or jsve been created in a certain way where it has to be below your waist line”.
Whatever the case maybe, sagging amongst the Ghanaian youth seems to be on the ascendency as one can now even spot sagged trousers at a ‘holy’ place like the church; banking halls and the senior high schools and universities are not faring any better.

ABLADE GLOVER’S 75TH BIRTHDAY ART EXHIBITION

The Artists Alliance Gallery in Accra has carved a niche for its self over the past few years as place where opportunities are offered to both local and international artists to exhibit their talents, therefore, the venue comes no better for famous Ghanaian artist, Professor Ablade Glover as he held an art exhibition to commemorate his 75th birthday in Accra recently.

The exhibition attracted a cross section of the media, art collectors, artists and some prominent personalities in legendary Ghanaian poet, Professor Atukwei Okai, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr. Nick Westcott amongst others. Most of the paintings on display were abstract oil paintings done by the Professor over the years.

In a very simple yet well organized exhibition, the art fanatics around looked very satisfied with the works on display as many were seen discussing the beauty of one painting after the other. Out of the fifty-two (52) paintings that Professor Glover put on display, many were contemporary art blended with primitive settings like fisher folks, market women, and religious settings amongst others.

Professor Ablade Glover, who also doubles as the Director of the Artist Alliance Gallery, told What’s On the rationale behind the exhibition and the paintings as he said: “As an artist, I paint things that interest me and those are about women. I like their courage so as you can see, there are a lot of women in my paintings. I also like to paint things about spirituality though I wonder if they are real.”

“These paintings are works I have done over the years and I have selected the ones I really because as an artist you like all your works to portray my seventy-fifth birthday.” The exhibition, which was to celebrate the diamond jubilee, of perhaps one of the finest artists Ghana has ever produced lasted for thirty days.

USAIN BOLT—A RARE GEM

Prior to his then world record of 9.72 seconds he set in New York in May 2008, Usain Bolt was anonymous to the sporting world— perhaps with the exception of a few athletics fanatics in Jamaica. The summer Olympic Games in 2008 officially unleashed him to the spotlight as he led the domination of the Jamaicans in the track and field competition at the ‘Bird’s Nest’. He did this with mind-blowing performances that included shattering two world records in the process.

Starting the 2009 season by competing over 400 metres to improve his speed, Usain Bolt suffered a minor leg injuries in a car crash in late April and also the resurgence of rival Tyson Gay from injury compounded pressure on Usain to add the world title to his Olympic titles in order to reach hall of fame status where he has gradually approaching or perhaps approached.

Turning a professional in 2002, this 23-year old is re-writing the history books in a way that pundits haven’t seen in a while. His exploits have even incited some of his rivals including compatriot Asafa Powell to make comments like they don’t think he is from this planet and the fact that someone has to come from space to stop this “thunderbolt” as he is called in Jamaica. At age 15, he had grown to 6ft 5in tall and at age sixteen; he had reached times that the legendary Michael Johnson couldn’t until he was age 20.

In his fifth senior race over the 100 metres distance, he broke Asafa Powell’s record of 9.74 seconds to 9.72 seconds. Combining both the 100 metres and 200 metres at the Olympic Games in Beijing, he won Jamaica’s first gold medal at the competition in a world record time 9.69 seconds. The remarkable aspect of this feat is that, he did this by visibly slowing down to celebrate and also his golden Puma spikes with the inscription “Beijing 100m Gold” were untied. He was criticized for showboating few metres to the finish line; however, the real argument was about how early he could have finished with a time of 9.52s from his coach.

Exactly a year to the day he won the Olympic gold in Beijing, on the blue tartan tracks at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the world was awe-stricken as Bolt won his first World Championship gold medal in 9.58s in what was the largest ever margin of improvement in the 100m world record since the beginning of electronic timing. Taking over a tenth of a second off the previous world record, his closest rival Tyson Gay finished in a distant second with a time of 9.71seconds (the best by any American thus far).

The athletics world and lovers of sports in general are trying to find new superlatives to describe what he is doing as those available are understatements to his achievements. He has taken 0.16 sec off the 100 m in just 15 months—previously the mark has been lowered by only 0.21 secs by seven athletes over a 39-year period. Being the first man to hold both 100 and 200 meters Olympic and World crowns with world record times, one won’t be wrong in saying Usain is the greatest sportsman ever!