1st Lady Inaugurates Bisa Aberwa Museum

By Peter Gbambila

Nkontompo — The First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has said it is no longer necessary for people of African descent to travel through the wild desert and dangerous Mediterean Sea to work in the white man's plantations.

She said it was more dignifying and fitting to stay at home and work in the plantations owned by Africans and "be proud of working in your own homeland."

Mrs Akufo-Addo made these remarks when she inaugurated the Bisa Aberwa Museum at Nkontompo in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis of the Western Region here on Saturday.

She said that the edifice was amazing and those who wanted to gain more knowledge or do researches must patronise Bisa Aberwa Museum to acquire that knowledge.

Mrs Akufo-Addo compared the brain behind the museum, the legendary playwright and film maker, Mr Kwaw Paintsil Ansah, to Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Yaa Asantewa, Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvey and others who fought for the liberation of the African, adding "they fought not for themselves but for others to be independent to live on their own and enjoy freedom."

The First Lady observed that the museum and the message carried was a metaphor and embodied the emblem of Pan Africanism that translated to mean Africans must not rely on the crumbs of other people.

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Barbara Oteng-Gyasi noted that the day was appropriate for Africa because Bisa Aberwa has told the story of Africans in a special way and must be commended, adding that "this is significant for all people of African descent."

She said the museums helped people to preserve artefacts and other collections used by our ancestors for posterity. She also said the museum would help in research work and in gaining more knowledge for the development of the nation and beyond, especially those in the diaspora would gain and know more of the past from this museum.

Mrs Oteng-Gyasi commended Mr Kwaw Ansah for his great vision which sought to fulfil the dreams of Dr Kwame Nkrumah by creating a place of history, culture and tradition that would soon transfer knowledge to the younger generations.

The Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, described Mr Kwaw Ansah as the Lion of Africa, the essence of pioneering, the believer of the African spirit, the fighter of African excellence, the man who never gives up, the "stubborn" chief and the cartoonist, carpenter and wood worker.

He observed that Kwaw Ansah believed in our history and that our values as Africans must be sustained so as to be inculcated in future generations and this has proven resolute through the structure inaugurated.

He said Bisa Aberwa was dedicated to preserving the history of the black race, promoting African values and celebrating Pan African heroes and heroines.

Mr Kwaw Ansah, in a brief remark, said his sole objective was to raise a memorial for his heroes and heroines and open new windows of insights upon the lives and "philosophies of the greatest heroes and heroines of our noble people and to inspire my generation and generations to come with the values they stood for".

The chairman for the occasion, the Omanhene of Essikado, Nana KobinaNketsia V, said after 18 years of not celebrating Kuntum in his traditional area, he revived the festival because he wanted the young ones to know and learn more about their culture.

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