Hot!
Unto us, a sport is born!
• Mr Charles Osei Asibey – GAF President
A few years ago when arm-wrestling emerged as a new sports discipline on an already over-loaded sports scene, many did not anticipate it will soon be the rock on which Ghana sports would stand.
It was not, as it were, an entirely new sport. It was more or less a traditional sport among both young and old; male and female but extremely popular among the youth.
For them, it was purely a way to prove the stronger of the two.
But how Charles Osei Asibey, the Barrister with no background in law, managed to turn this into a sport that could suddenly turn the fortunes of Ghana over 360 degrees is what many sports federation bosses must learn.
In such an encouraging performance from a 13th African Games hosted by Ghana, it is proper to hail the entire team including those who could not make it to the podium.
Their sparring sessions, contribution in training, encouragement and words of motivation inspired the winners on to win their respective medals. It may therefore sound someway trying to single out a particular discipline for praise.
It can be likened to a popular scripture in the Holy Bible found in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 (KJV).
It reads: “I (Paul) have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
So neither did he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”
From the above, every member of Team Ghana, be it individuals or federations becomes one and must share in the glory.
But as human as we are, surely, some special praise would be heaped on the Golden Arms who breathed life into the campaign. Let’s not forget we are also commanded to give to Caesar what is Caesar.
So from nowhere through the sheer strength and resilience of a female weightlifter, Winnifred Ntumi, Ghana’s first medal seed was planted, registering Ghana on the medal table with a gold and two silver medals.
Just a day after, Abeiku Jackson fetched swimming the first of two medals garnered at the Games and while we waited, the Golden Arms dropped the medal overdose, registering 41 medals comprising eight gold, 19 silver and 14 bronze.
That was unprecedented and cannot pass without a special mention.
Until this feat, Ghana’s highest medal haul was pegged at 27, a feat attained during the 1973 edition of the Games held in Nigeria.
Even if Ghana were to set a new medal record in the Games, arm-wrestling was surely not one of the disciplines uninitiated fans would expect our achievement to come from.
But from the inception of the sport as one of the ‘children’ of the National Sports Authority (NSA), arm-wrestling has maintained some level of consistency, sweeping medals for fun at international meets; they have been very dominant.
Without mincing words, ‘Barrister’ Osei Asibey has done a yeoman’s job worth emulating by all although the dynamics differs as far as the respective disciplines are concerned.
But the Ghana Armwrestling Federation (GAF) must guard against complacency. They must not rest on their oars because it will mark the beginning of a fierce ‘war’ with other competitors.
Like the popular saying, behind every successful man, there is a woman but in the case of the ‘Barrister’, he has been lucky to have a strong and buoyant board to indeed make arm-wrestling a sport of choice.
The Executive Board of GAF includes Pahrm. Kofi Addo Agyekum (Vice President), Mr Jesse Agyepong (General Secretary), Mr Godfrey William Amarteifio (Finance & Administration), Mr Edwin Amankwah (Operations), Mr Jonathan Lambert Nii Okai Awuletey (Marketing & Communication), Mr Husseini Akueteh Addy (Technical Director), Dr. Marc Dzradosi (Medical), DCOP Lydia Donkor (Director, Corporate Affairs), Mr Robert Appiah Ameyaw, Mr Norbert Kwankye (Members).
These men and women have provided a solid foundation on which arm-wrestling has been established and as they keep working hard to remain at the top, the whole world would consider Ghana a force as the arm-wrestling agenda is pushed to the Olympics.
By Andrew Nortey
The Vice President, Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called for stronger action to promote gender equity and create more opportunities for women in the workplace.
She made the call in a Facebook post after joining staff at the Presidency of Ghana to mark International Women’s Day.
The celebration was held under the theme “From Commitment to Action: Promoting Equity for Every Woman in the Workplace” and focused on recognising the achievements of women while reflecting on the work needed to ensure equal opportunities.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang extended warm wishes to women across Ghana and noted that women have always played key roles in the country’s communities and economic activities.
According to her, women in the past served as healers, traders and queen mothers who contributed to leadership and governance in traditional societies.
She explained that Ghana’s cultural history shows that women have long provided knowledge, leadership and innovation to help develop communities.
The Vice President however noted that current disparities require society to examine systems and structures that may have limited opportunities for women.
She stressed that advancing gender equity will require deliberate actions and the mentoring of young women to prepare them for leadership roles.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang recognised women whose work takes place in markets, streets and small trading spaces across the country.
According to her, these women form the backbone of local economies and continue to demonstrate resilience despite the difficult conditions they face.
She commended women working at the Presidency for their dedication and leadership and reaffirmed the need to promote respect, fairness and opportunity for every woman.
The Vice President further called on both men and women to work together to break barriers and ensure that women can fully contribute to Ghana’s development.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President has hosted a delegation of African diaspora women who are in Ghana ahead of a planned Presidential Conferment of Citizenship ceremony.
The Director of Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko, explained in a Facebook post that the visit was a gesture of appreciation by the delegation to the Government of Ghana for its continued efforts to reconnect Africans in the diaspora with their ancestral homeland.
He indicated that the ceremony, scheduled for next Monday, will officially grant Ghanaian citizenship to members of the delegation as part of the country’s broader engagement with the African diaspora.
The delegation was led by Erica Bennett, Founder of the Diaspora Africa Forum.
According to Mr Okyere Darko, her years of advocacy have played an important role in strengthening ties between Africa and people of African descent living abroad.
He noted that the group’s journey towards citizenship represents not only a legal process but also a cultural and spiritual return to their roots.
Also present at the meeting was Natalie Jackson, an attorney who is also expected to receive Ghanaian citizenship during the ceremony. She works closely with renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Mr Okyere Darko emphasised that Ghana remains committed to strengthening relationships with the African diaspora and promoting unity, identity, and shared heritage among people of African descent worldwide.
By: Jacob Aggrey
