Benjamin Anane-Nsiah has outlined the political and tourism significance of Stevie Wonder relocating to Ghana from the African diaspora in America.

Mr Ben Anane-Nsiah, as he is popularly called, is the Deputy CEO at the Ghana Tourism Tourism Authority. He spoke to Prince Benjamin (PB) on the Class Morning Show on Class 91.3 FM.

Praising Wonder’s talent, he highlighted his visit and relocation called back to that of other great Africans of the diaspora who felt at home in West Africa’s iconic Ghana.

“Well, we all know the stature of Stevie Wonder. I mean he's very incredibly talented. He’s a great African, you know somebody that makes all Africans proud and you know, let me say, the pedigree of this nation right from independence. We've always seen ourselves as the vanguard of the Pan-African cause. We've linked our independence to the welfare of the Black people everywhere and Stevie follows in the trail of equally distinguished Africans who have assisted with gather Dr W.E.B. du Bois – brilliant guy, Harvard scholar, if you read his books his way out there. You know, he lived here. He actually died here. He worked with Kwame Nkrumah on the Encyclopedia Africana. George Padmore was associated with us. You’ve heard of Maya Angelou, Rita Marley…,” Mr Anane-Nsiah listed.

“The way Ghana even responded to apartheid,” he added, “you know, we had a whole African Affairs Secretariat which was actively involved, I mean, direct action trying to help the frontline states and all of that.”

“So we've always known that history has separated African family and colonialism and all of that hasn't helped us and we have to work together with our other African brothers, here and outside the continent, to advance the interest of the African. This has been the political angle,” he further explained.

Turning his attention to the tourism angle, he noted America is most drawn to Ghana, pointing out, also, what makes the country attractive to Africans in the diaspora.

“You naturally want to look at the products you have, the offerings you have, and ask who does it appeal to, right? And because of that history, the African diaspora tends to be interested in what we have. We have the slave castles, we have the kingdoms, we have the histories, we have the tradition so naturally, in pitching to generating markets, we focus quite a bit on the African diaspora market and statistics show that the United States for example is our number one inbound right? Yeah, so that's the tourism,” Mr Benjamin Anane-Nsiah said.

Furthermore, he explored the Year of Return initiative, its impact, and the types of Africans in the diaspora it is aimed at.

“For the bigger Year of Return idea that was launched in 2019,” he said, “that was the 400-year celebration of a phenomenon that took place. The idea was to create some kind of a bridge to highlight the connection between us and the diaspora and the diaspora is not just the historical diaspora. There's Africans who have lived and their second and third generations, which we want to connect back home, and so it’s a whole mechanism to encourage them to come first as tourists and second also to take advantage of the opportunities that may be available and also to even streamline the processes if they decide to relocate. That's what this Year of Return and so on has been.”

The Achimota alumnus finally emphasised his admiration for Stevland Hardaway Morris, alias Stevie Wonder, remarking on his integrity and the Pan-African and humanist worth of his music, “We're happy about Stevie because he just an outstanding African. He's an outstanding African by all standards, he's been around a long time, there are no scandals, you don't hear about any shady deals, yeah, you know, his music and the lyrics of his songs are one that talk about social harmony, social justice, so we are happy to associate with people like that and Ghana has a couple of very prominent people out there right now, and so we're happy that the families are coming together, right?”

On his 74th birthday, Monday, May 13, 2024, Stevie Wonder had his long-cherished dream come true, becoming a Ghanaian citizen in a ceremony overseen by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Golden Jubilee House.