There are similarities between the West African country of Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago. Like TT, it is a relatively small in area on the African continent, and has a small population. It is also a country rich in oil and natural gas.
But the linkage between TT and Ghana goes beyond those similarities. The countries are connected through the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, The Asantehene’s visit to TT from July 30-August 5 has brought the importance of the connection between TT and Ghana into stark view. The Asante Empire was one that lasted from 1701 to 1901 and was located in what is now modern-day Ghana.
The King will be visiting for this year’s Emancipation observance. The Pan African Festival TT began in May and culminates with Emancipation celebrations on August 1.
Prof Emerita Bridget Brereton said Ghana – once called the Gold Coast – was one of the regions of West Africa where “men, women and children were kidnapped, enslaved and brought across the Atlantic and some ended up in TT.
“Unquestionably, there are people, today, in both islands (TT) who have ancestral links to modern-day Ghana which is where the King and the Asante people are located.”
His visit to the country also creates an opportunity for a different kind of storytelling about darker-skinned people and royalty, both Emancipation Support Committee (ESCTT) executive director Zakiya Uzoma Wadada and the UWI lecturer Dr Jerome Teelucksingh said.
Wadada said in 2020 the Prime Minister – following a visit to Ghana and being greeted by the Asante people – invited the Asantehene to be part of the Emancipation festival.
The invitation was accepted but was postponed as TT and the rest of the world was fighting the covid19 pandemic.
But earlier this year Uzoma Wadada and the committee were informed of the King’s impending visit.
She said his visit is significant for TT because Afro-Trinidadians “do not have a perception of ourselves linked with royalty.”
“When we think King and Queen, we think Europe and we think European. Normally, the perception of Africa is one of poor and suffering people, people going a rough time,” she said.
Poverty existed on the continent as it did everywhere else in the world, but the continent was also a rich one, she said.
Uzoma Wadada said the idea of Afro-Trinidadians being linked with royalty would be good for the country’s psyche as part of its self-healing in the Emancipation process.
When asked if she felt discussion around oil and natural gas would feature during the King’s visit, she said the committee has been hosting a trade and investment symposium for the past 22 years and the organisation has always been promoting trade between the continent, the region and country.
Uzoma Wadada said discussions about collaboration between TT and Ghana about oil and gas began some time ago.
[caption id="attachment_1028061" align="alignnone" width="858"] Prof Emerita Bridget Brereton. - ROGER JACOB[/caption]
Like Brereton, Dr Teelucksingh spoke to links between TT and Ghana
