• Prof. Ken Attafuah, NIA boss displaying his card
Our country is amongst one of the first countries in Africa to have gained political independence from the whites precisely from our British Colonial masters. This means Ghana is one of the pacesetters as far as political aspiration, dream and ambition is concerned.
What is trending in Ghana now is the registration of its citizenry for the Ghana Card. The Ghana Card is established to be one of the major biometric citizenship identification tools in Ghana other than the Passport.
It is hoped that soon every citizen in this country would possess this document for identification, telecommunication and transactional purposes. It would amaze you to learn that lots of people everywhere would love to identify themselves with Ghana.
Here in Africa, it is a pride not only to belong to the race of blacks called African but to belong as well to a particular African country. Is it not a pride to be known as a citizen of Morocco, Tanzania, Angola, Senegal amongst others?
People all over this continent would boldly love to show the country they belong in terms of the citizenship rights and the documentation they have. Why would an individual develop so much love for a country in Africa to the extent that they do not want to move to another place to settle and work there, or travel there for comfort, luxury or vacation?
We have heard it so many times that Ghana is the destination in Africa. Others have also said that it is the gateway to Africa. It is possible that Ghana is not yet known to some people in other parts of our world despite the fact that Ghana has been very active to a large extent in the FIFA World Cup on several occasions. Our youngsters have long been there. Our senior national teams have also been there for a while now.
Come to think of it. Employability and availability of jobs is a spice in one’s decision making plan so far as migration, choosing to stay in any nation or to belong there is really concerned. Our records here show that so many tourists would love to visit Ghana. Most foreigners would love to stay in Ghana into the distant and unforeseen future to pursue higher degrees, work and live here, make a family or search for a partner here.
Now that the Ghana Card is here to regulate the citizenry and show the authenticity of a person living in Ghana, what are the future prospects for the elderly and youths of other countries who were not born in Ghana, have no Ghanaian spouses and are in no particular way Ghanaian but have a strong passion for Ghana and would wish to switch nationality into becoming Ghanaian?
I have a genuine feeling that a mechanism like a ‘Ghana Visa Lottery’ if it were to be introduced into the migration machinery to Ghana would be so relevant and useful. Our political leaders and law makers could introduce a new structure for migrating to permanently stay in our Ghana, for switching and acquisition of a Ghanaian nationality and citizenry status based on a person’s knowledge and skills set, displayed passion, feeling of love and loyalty to our nationhood, amongst others.
Thanks in advance to any political leader who comes to the decision table or blackboard with a suggestion to introduce this innovation. Ghana could be the pacesetter in this dimension, too.
By Ebenezer K N Baiden-Amissah
Writer’s address and contact:
P. O. Box LG 1254, Legon, Accra,
Ghana /Telephone +233245310380