Emmanuel Amegavi Sosu writes: Ghana Destined To Become A Bilingual State?
The Republic of Ghana, an island among 3 French speaking
countries and the Gulf of Guinea has since its birth shown signs of
bilingualism taking into account the educational plan set up by the first
president Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Building of Mont Marry college of education, an
educational center dedicated to training French teachers, building Alliance
Française, a center meant for teaching and learning of the French language and
culture among others.
Since then, every president Ghana has ever known had always either consolidated the bilateral relationship between Ghana and the francophone world or taken it a step further through every diplomatic means possible. Almost every year, hundreds of Ghanaian students go to either France or any other french speaking country of their choice on scholarship. This, the governments do, to further strengthen their ties in diplomatic, economic, cultural and political fronts.
If the pictorial evidence below is anything to go by, then the long-term outcomes are apparent In reference to a certain number of Ghanaians who became global citizens partly due to their love for the French language such as: His Excellency Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, His Excellency Mohammed IbnChambas, the special representative of the United Nations' Secretary General in the West Africa and the Sahel, His Excellency Thomas Kwesi Quartey, the Vice Chairperson of the African Union and His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, the president of the Republic of Ghana.
It's interesting to note that the current president of the
Republic of Ghana signed Ghana unto the international organization of "la
francophonie" in September 2006 when he was the Minister for Foreign
Affairs.
This in itself has almost made Ghana a bilingual country on
paper, but as to how soon it could become practicable, we all have a role to
play as Ghanaians.
In actual fact, there is no single Ghanaian, who does not
desire to be like any of the above global citizens; however the question
whether we're ready to make the required sacrifice remains unanswered. In 2017,
a report published by TV3 station, revealed that Ghana Education Service needs
about 13,000 French teachers to satisfy the deficiency in teaching staff. This
report, followed the declaration made by the president of the Republic when he
was on his first official visit to the neighboring Togo during his meeting with
the Ghanaian community in Togo, that the French language as a subject will
become compulsory in Ghana's educational system at the Junior High and the
Senior High school levels.
In actual fact, the reasons why Ghana should be made a
bilingual State are obvious and intrinsically attached to the country's nature.
As Ghana finds itself among French speaking countries, as
our Heads of States keep advocating for regional integration, as they push for
the signing of the free trade agreement among the ECOWAS subregion, the french
language would be an instrumental factor and could place Ghana on a high
pedestal In Africa economically, politically and diplomatically.
In my quest to synchronise my views and that of others on
this subject matter, the "Français Pour Tous"team and myself met with
the following authorities of the Republic of Ghana:
H.E John Agyekum Kufuor, former president of the Republic
of Ghana
H.E Thomas Kwesi Quartey, the incumbent Vice Chairperson of
African Union
H.E Kojo K. Alabo, Ghana's Ambassador to the Republic of
Russia
Hon. Frank Agyekum, former Minister of State
Hon. Dr Yaw Osei Adu-Twum, Deputy Minister of Education in
charge of secondary education
Mr Stephen Kwaku Darku, Youth Activist and the 2017
president of the Junior Chamber International(Ghana chapter)
Hon. Eric Kwakye Darfour, Eastern Regional Minister with
whom I recently had a programme on the radio France Internationale regarding
the state of the french language in Ghana.
Throughout all these engagements, one idea seemed to be
common: Making Ghana an English french bilingual country.
Writer: Emmanuel Amegavi Sosu
President, Français Pour Tous (French For All).
Email: francaispourtousgh@gmail.com
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