From:   YAKUBU ABDUL-MAJEED, Tamale

ALHAJI Adam Y.B. Ibrahim, deputy Director of Ghana Education Service (GES), has called on Africans to discard negative perception about the continent.

He said, “It was unfortunate that we associated anything originated by blacks as evil and inferior”. Alhaji said this when he presented a paper at a forum on the “Emancipation Day” celebration, in Tamale at the weekend.

The programme which was under the theme “Emancipation, our heritage, our strength, honoring our African heroes” was organized by the Ghana Tourists Board.

According to him, the colonial masters made Africans everywhere to believe that, Africans were not capable of doing anything good.

He added that, the people over the world were also taught to believe that Africa was a continent of failure and ugliness.

“Time has come to put an end to the negative perceptions and begin to think positive about Africa, for being black is a blessing,” Alhaji Ibrahim stressed.

He emphasized that, it was time for Africans to produce inner and outer wealth for themselves.

The Director also urged Africans to be committed to liberating themselves from disease, poverty and hunger saying the continent was rich in resources to support any initiative.

Alhaji Ibrahim, however, called on African Nations to spearhead development of the continent by re-establishing African nation of its entire people, capable of delivering to the people.

He lauded government for launching Joseph project, which he remarked when well managed, could unite the people of the continent.

He lamented that trans-Atlantic slave trade remained the worse inhumanity to the people in the Africa and therefore urged the youth to read about it so to ensure that, such a thing never occurred again.

The Northern Regional Manager, Mr. William Ayambire, in his welcome address entreated the youth to learn the history of the country.

            THE SPECTATOR      –          Saturday, June 16, 2007                       Page:  19