Ambasador Nyaho-Tamakloe grants interview to cord magazine Belgrade, Serbia
Full diplomatic relations between Belgrade and Accra date back to the mid-1950s and the birth of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Yugoslavia that was a founding member of the movement may have gone, but this month H.E. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe tells CorD that Ghana continues to attach great importance to relations with Serbia.
In Georgetown, capital of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, stands a monument commemorating the four founders of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM): President Gamal Abdel- Nasser of Egypt, President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Jawaharlal Nehru of India and President Tito of Yugoslavia.
Today’s continued friendly relations between Belgrade and Accra stand as testament to the fact that the strong bond of friendship upon which the Movement was founded did not die with the men who forged it.
Speaking exclusively to CorD this month, H.E. Ambassador Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe says: “…despite changes in governments in Ghana over the years, our relations with Serbia have not been affected in any way and we have continued to remain here ever since. Such is the importance that Ghana attaches to her relations with Serbia”.
Further explaining Cold war relations between Accra and Belgrade, Ambassador Nyaho-Tamakloe says: “Ghana and the then Yugoslavia used to co-operate a lot in the fields of economics and culture. While Ghana benefited from educational training in the fields of medicine, engineering and agriculture from the former Yugoslavia, the latter benefited from cocoa imports and other primary products from Ghana.”
Noting that several areas of technical and economic co-operation currently exist between the two countries, the Ambassador continues: “Energoprojekt, a Serbian (former Yugoslavian) construction firm, which is currently still undertaking projects in Ghana, constructed the magnificent Accra International Conference Centre, which now hosts international conferences and meetings and served as Parliament House when a new path of democratic dispensation was ushered in (1992-93) after a long spell of military / quasi-military rule.”
Africa Unite
The African Union (AU), like the African Economic Community and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) before it, hopes one day to turn Africa into a fully-functioning union with a single market, a single currency and an integrated AU defence force.
Addressing relations within the au and the potential for pancontinental unity in Africa, ambassador Nyaho-Tamakloe says that relations are ‘perfect’: “I have full confidence that, within the first half of this century, African leaders will gain a better understanding of the need to tackle common challenges… to focus on African-related problems” and realise “the need for the leadership of Africa to understand the cry of their people and be able to fight for their interests…”
CorD’s interlocutor insists that he believes: “This continent, which boasts enormous natural resources, should not go begging cap-in-hand… despite our colonial past, which saw vast looting of our resources, we still have unbelievable reserves of natural resources…with the right leadership and direction, these resources could be utilised to free our people from their present poverty and hardship.”
Dictated Trade
Commenting on the unfairness of current international trade norms, The Ghanaian ambassador says: “though colonialism may have ended, to a large extent, we are saddled with a highly unfair international trading system with the advanced countries; Africa doesn’t get fair prices for its products on the world market. Though we all trade on the same open market, Africa buys western products at prices determined by the west.”
Suggesting that the notion of ‘fair trade’ has not been converted to reality, and expressing hope that this entire concept will be re-examined by the G8 nations, ambassador Nyaho-Tamakloe says: “‘Fair Trade’, developed by the British, is a concept that we were made to believe would promote the equal and fair exchange of goods between the developed and developing world. Unfortunately, I can say with confidence that Africa has not benefited in any way from this concept…”
“Africa is unavoidably concerned with a policy directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger poverty, desperation and chaos… As Africans, we share a common past, a common present and a common destiny that we are willing to share and stand up for”
Africa united F.C.
It was way back in 1990 that pundits first predicted that the world would soon see an African world champion of football. And, with Ghana advancing beyond the group stages at this year’s world cup and the next world cup to be held in South Africa, perhaps the day when this becomes a reality is not too far away. However, Ambassador Nyaho-Tamakloe, a former President of Ghana’s Football Association, is not so optimistic: “I must admit that I don’t see an African country becoming the world football champion very soon. My reasons are simple: the continent has tremendous problems with organisation – as can be seen in what is currently happening in Nigeria, where the Minister Responsible for Sports has flatly refused to recognise the President of the Nigerian FA… FIFA has been quite blunt in demanding that Nigeria clean its house of football problems or face suspension. About two years ago, when I was president of the Football Association, Ghana faced a similar problem. But I must say that those problems have been satisfactorily resolved.”
Insisting that African countries need to provide greater governmental support to enable Africa to develop a respectable inter-continental dimension and attract the advertising and sponsorship support of Multinational Corporations, Ambassador Nyaho-Tamakloe concludes: “Premier clubs in Africa are almost all cash-strapped, and this sad development forces them to seek financial assistance from their respective governments; …government’s who want to put their ‘money where their mouth is’, that is to say, have some influence over the running of the clubs. It might surprise you to learn that the Government of Ghana, for the first time in our history of football, has spent huge amounts of money, not just for preparation and playing at the current World Cup in Germany, but also to enable the team to play at the World Cup finals.”
Entwined Roots
Many international observers and social analysts suggest that parts of Africa are still struggling to break free of tribal roots. The Ghanaian ambassador in Belgrade, however, says that: “This is a purely prejudiced viewpoint that has no basis whatsoever…a number of countries in Europe define their nationalities along ethnic/ tribal lines: Great Britain and its problems with the Irish and the Welsh; Spain and the problem of the Basque separatists; the Flemish in Belgium. Most recently, Iraq was, and still is, plagued by tribally-motivated sectarian violence.
“Racism has rather gained notoriety in the west, particularly in Europe at present, as evidenced by international media reports of late.”
Singing the praises of cultural diversity on the continent, he says: “Africa is made up of different ethnicities, cultures, tribes, etc. But that in itself is not negative in the sense that these are attributes that bind Africans and give each nation its individuality…”
Turning again to the issue of the African union and its potential to become a fully functioning union based on the model of the EU, our interviewee explains: “Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence, in 1957… on the day of independence for Ghana, [President] dr. Nkrumah declared that “the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent” … less than a year after independence, dr. Nkrumah called the first Conference of Independent African States, held in Accra in 1958 [attended by Ghana, Liberia, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Morocco and Ethiopia]. Then in december 1958, also in Accra, a Conference of the all-African Peoples Organisation was held… Subsequently, the Organisation of African unity (OAU) [since succeeded by the AU] was founded in 1963 in Addis Ababa…
“In short”, says ambassador Nyaho-Tamakloe, “the continent has undergone a series of struggles to free itself politically, and I strongly believe that if we can put in place the right economic and political policies/programmes, control and determine the prices of our natural resources and do away with governments that come to power through unconstitutional means, our main objective of achieving better living standards for our peoples would be realised”.
According to the Ghanaian diplomat, his country’s leaders “have always believed that Africa’s destiny lay in the unity of the entire African continent as a way of forestalling the numerous conflicts and fragmentations of the African societies. The then OAU proposed an African defence Organisation, otherwise known as the African high Command, to which African states will allocate units based in their own respective countries. These units will be kept in a state of preparedness for the operations decided by the high Command… It is worth noting that those brilliant plans put together by the founding fathers of the OAU are identical to the present-day African unity Military/Conflict Resolution Programme”.
Globalising Africa
He draws particular attention to additional steps taken to hasten the integration of the African continent, saying: “…the leaders of the continent went further to introduce the New Partnership of Africa’s development (NEPAD) as a mandated programme of the au to reflect the renewed awareness of Africans to ensure the speedy transformation and development of the African continent…”
Describing Globalisation as a means of bridging the social, economic and political gaps between the world’s nations, ambassador Nyaho-Tamakloe pays homage to the swift, unprecedented development of China, saying: “The people’s Republic of China, within the shortest possible time, has become a great economic, military and political threat to the whole of Europe and North America. Who would have thought that China could become such a great ‘super-power’ within a short period of post-Mao Tse-Tung development? Africa has drawn great inspiration from the Chinese and is determined to make a breakthrough with the African Union and, thus, make its mark on global politics”.
He notes that Africa has strategically positioned itself to take advantage of the benefits of a globalised world, adding “… technologies are being upgraded appreciably on the continent and I believe strongly that if fair trading and business practices are put in place by Multinational Corporations in Africa, the continent would not have any need to depend on any other nation.”
Traditional Allies
The solid, friendly ties that exist between Belgrade and Accra are based on unity of a different kind. But, with the countries’ respective paths no longer aligned in the nonaligned world, and Serbia’s leaders seemingly focusing primarily on relations with Brussels, Washington and Moscow, CorD asks whether those relations have relevance in this post-Yugoslav era.
“Of course they do,” insists the ambassador, “otherwise Ghana and indeed some other African countries would not still be represented here in Belgrade. The decision taken four decades ago by Ghanaian President Nkrumah, Yugoslav President Broz Tito, Indian Prime Minister Pendith Nehru, President Sukarno of Indonesia and Egyptian President Nasser, to walk a neutral line between the then so-called ‘great powers’ of East and West, was what has saved the world until this very day. Indeed, contemporary diplomacy has come to confirm this.”
Showing understanding for Belgrade’s position, he says: “at the moment Serbia is standing on the Three Pillars Plus. I can see its foreign policy revolving around Brussels (because of her interests in joining the EU), Washington (because of her strategic interest in Euro-Atlantic integration) and Russia (because of traditional ties existing between them). However, I do not believe that this comes at the expense of Serbia’s friends”.
Contributing to Peace
Ambassador Nyaho-Tamakloe has personally contributed to Ghana’s international peacekeeping efforts, which began in 1960, and was decorated for his services in the Sinai desert (1976-77).
Ghana’s international peacekeeping tradition also saw Ghanaian General Emmanuel Erskine become Africa’s first commander of UN peacekeeping operations on the ground, during the Israeli – Arab conflicts of the 1970s, and is now continuing in Kosovo (amongst other places), where a Ghanaian Police Contingent has been serving to protect all the peoples of Kosovo: “I have been to Kosovo on just one occasion … at the invitation of the Ghanaian Police Contingent which had finished its tour of duty and members were to be awarded united Nations’ Medals at the Medal day Parade I attended. “Our police contingent has been so vital that a request has been made by UNMIK commanders for several of them to stay on and pass on their expertise to newcomers. So I think our policemen will be there for a little while longer...”
