The multitalented Ghanaian musician, broadcaster and actress, Jackie Ankrah, is out with a brand new song titled, ‘My Ghana, Your Ghana.’
It is a creatives-led peace advocacy effort, vocalised by the amazing voices of Cwesi Oteng, Perez Musik, Efe Grace, Mary Ghansah, Diana Hopeson, former President of the Musicians Union and Pastor Ella Somuah of ICGC.
‘My Ghana, Your Ghana’ is a patriotic song of special significance and very relevant to the December 2024 elections in Ghana but not circumscribed by it.
The composition inspires hope, peace, harmony, togetherness, national pride, and zeal while highlighting the values that bind us as a people.
Record label Shika Dimensions and its primary artiste, Jackie Ankrah, have exhibited superb convening power by bringing together an impressive coalition of seventeen notables who include Gifty Anti, Fred Amugi, Edinam Atatsi, Gloria Sarfo, Roselyn Ngissah, Professor Patience Abor, also known as Wegeiwor, Kafui Dey, and Fiifi Folson, Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa Sulemana Braimah, and Journalist of the Year 2021, Portia Gabor.
The all-star assembly is joined by sixteen children from the Sap’s School in Teshie.
Jackie Ankrah, who also has a Masters degree in Security Studies and is often MC at high-level security engagements, explains that the ‘My Ghana, Your Ghana’ project has been a knowledge-led labour of love and a calculated commitment.
The tempo of the song is moderated in order to maximise reflection.
The main idea is based on the UNESCO foundational thought that wars begin in the minds of men. She emphasises that although songs for strategic political communication in Ghana often focus on protest and propaganda and are often conveyed in the high tempo of ‘Jama’, there must also be room for consensual, reflective options.
Although the song has been timed to be useful for the forthcoming Ghanaian elections, it is designed to be relevant well beyond elections. In peace-making today, the need for continued engagement and for widening the definition of core stakeholders, especially to women and youth, is well-recognised. For peace to prevail, the song intones, there must be a comity of interests for a better humanity, hence ‘My Ghana, Your Ghana.’
The video is a very classy affair, directed by Lesley Osei Kwame and shot by Boblinkin, who deserve praise for making effective use of the often difficult-to-film Independence Square, especially the Roman Black Star Gate and the Unknown Warrior memorial.
The combination of music, stage, and movie stars pays homage to the combined, boundless nature of performance in Ghanaian tradition.
Overall, ‘My Ghana, Your Ghana’ is a very impressive effort that has been met with goodwill.
The group was invited to sing at the signing of the Presidential Election Peace Pact 2024, recently held at the Kempinski Hotel.
