Over 250 Ghanaians of all walks of life in the Republic of Ireland thronged to Clarion Hotel on Saturday 25th October 2008 to celebrate the official inauguration of the Association of Ghanaian Professionals in Ireland (AGPI). Amid drumming, funfair and interspersed with cultural displays by the Letterkenny Cultural Troupe, the Irish sampled at first hand the rich culture of our motherland and at the same time witnessed the coming to “life”- the rebirth of the sleeping giant of Africa, ‘The Black Star’ in this part of the world.

The AGPI which was formed almost a year ago to mobilise and inspire Ghanaians resident in Ireland to realise their full potential. It is the vision of AGPI that every Ghanaian achieves the highest talent and thus capable and able to exert maximum influence towards the advancement of both Ghanaian and Irish societies. Today, AGPI has grown to become the umbrella body of almost all the Ghanaian groupings in this land.

The programme began with a prayer by Deacon Kwame Takyi of the Local Church of Pentecost.

Ms. Lynda Twum –Arckah, Chairperson for the occasion in her acceptance speech said it was gratifying that a lady had been selected to chair this all important function which bore testimony to AGPI’s belief that women should be given greater recognition and encouraged to take up leadership roles.

In her brief but concise speech, she reminded the Ghanaian women in Ireland to embrace the education facility in this country and try to have some form of education. She said, “the AGPI was formed as a way of bringing the Ghanaian in this land together and that we should all endeavour to embrace it” She cautioned the Ghanaian community in Ireland to eschew all forms of disunity and realise that we are all the children of one mother - Ghana’.

Before delivering the welcome address, the Chairperson of the AGPI, Dr. Vincent Agyapong led Ghanaians present to sing the patriotic-revolutionary song: ‘We are all involved in rebuilding our motherland’

He took the opportunity to pay homage to all the Ghanaian groupings in Ireland, namely; the Asanteman Union, Brong Ahafo and Anuanom Kuo, Okyeman Kuo, and Ghanaian Communities in Cork, Letterkenny, Longford, Galway, and Limerick. He also paid tribute to the members of our sister nation, Nigeria who were represented at the function in their numbers. He said he was proud that they took time out of their tight schedules to join us in this important inauguration and especially, the Nigerian Ambassador in Ireland, H.E. Dr (Mrs) Kemafo Nonyerem Chike.

Dr.Agyapong said the AGPI set forth on a journey a year ago to change the course and destiny of Ghanaians in Ireland for the better and to keep the Irish dream alive for everyone willing to work for it whilst keeping Ghanaians in Ireland together as one happy family. He said AGPI refuses to believe that there are insurmountable barriers to Ghanaians in Ireland achieving their full potential and AGPI equally refuse to believe that there are insufficient resources in the great vaults of opportunity in the Island of Ireland.

He cautioned Ghanaians against trying to sacrifice our integrity in our quest to satisfy our thirst for prosperity and advancement by indulging in fraudulent practices and greed. He implored all Ghanaians to strive to conduct our affairs guided by dignity, integrity and discipline.

In bringing his speech to a close, Dr Agyapong emphasised that our common nationality as Ghanaians is more important than any individual or collective differences. He advised that Ghanaians all over Ireland should resolve to run our communities as one family regardless the tribal, political or religious affiliation of members of the community.

The Key Note address was delivered on behalf of Ghana’s High Commissioner to the U.K and Ireland by Mr. Edward Coffie a Consular at the embassy.

Speaking on the theme: ‘The Role of Education and Entrepreneurship in Ghana’s Quest to attain a Middle Income Status-Lessons from the Celtic Tiger Era’,

Mr Coffie said Ghana has made a lot of progress in the last decade. He cited the stabilisation of the economy with relatively low inflation and low interest rates, the introduction of the national health insurance scheme to replace the infamous cash and carry system, the introduction of the capitation grant and school feeding programmes, the national youth employment programme and the metro mass transport system as some achievements of the government.

He said the enabling environment in Ghana for business is a result of the liberal tax regime which is almost in line with the Irish Celtic-Tiger era. He said that this has seen Ghana’s Economy registering modest growth even though the Global Economy has faced major shocks. For Ghana to attain the standards that propelled ‘Celtic Tiger ’to the top, Ghana’s economy would have to diversify, this he explained by saying, resources should be mobilised and moved to places of need in the economy. It is wrong to have everything centralised in Accra which to him inhibit the growth of the economy because decision taking becomes politicised.

In bringing his address to a close, Mr Coffie said, Ghanaians should count themselves blessed to have Human Resources which if harnessed properly would make attaining Middle Income Status by 2015 a reality . He reiterated his call on the AGPI to help in harnessing the resources of the Ghanaian in Ireland so that they make a positive contribution towards the national economy.

A Guest Speaker for the occasion Mrs. Betty Mould - Idrissu stressed that the Ghanaian Woman should not become only a house wife but that they should take education seriously. She challenged the Ghanaian women in Ireland to make sure they made maximum use of the educational opportunities offered by this country. She said she is where she is now because of education and cautioned our women to realise it is never too late to get educated.

Finally, she warned the Ghanaian women in Ireland to move away from the Social Welfare System which has entrapped them because of the meagre supplementary support they get from the government and go and look for jobs. She said they should move away from this cycle of poverty and that can happen only if these women in Ireland took their destinies into their own hands and engage in educational programmes which will bring them into the Irish economic system.

She saluted all the Ghanaian groupings in Ireland by saying: AYEKOO!

In his solidarity message, Mr. John Higgins leader of the Irish Socialist Party and former TD for west Dublin advised Ghanaians to be weary of those who will come as our friends to exploit Ghana’s oil resources.

He said the oil discovery would be a blessing if it is used to better the lot of all Ghanaians. He said if the oil find will help Ghana feed herself and fight disease, then it would be beneficial. However, if a tiny part of our population would as usual enjoy the bulk of the oil wealth then Ghana is doomed.

The Vice Chair of AGPI, Dr Wilberforce Owusu-Ansah, launched the AGPI inaugural awards, a permanent annual initiative, to be held annually on October Bank Holiday Weekend, to inspire, recognise and honour individuals or groups who have made contribution towards the realisation of the noble goals of AGPI. Awards were presented to deserving Ghanaians and Irish maiden winners in five main categories by Dr. Wilberforce Owusu-Ansah and Mr Mark Mantey, an AGPI Regional Representative. The Award presenters detailed the achievements of the Award recipients and it is the belief of AGPI that it would spur us on to new heights in our various endeavours. The winners were as follows:

Nana Agyei, a Community Advocate and the President of the Asanteman Union was given the Community Award whilst the Education Award went to Doreen Smith a mother of two and final year BSc (Pharmaceutical Technology) student.

Raymond Koomson, a BSc Student in Supply Chain Management and Logistics won the Youth Achievement Award whilst Nana Agyeman, Owner Manager of Ahenfie Groceries won the Enterprise award. Two special awards were given to two prominent Irish Citizens, Father Pat ‘Kojo’ Seaver and Mr. Noel Kiernan, Consul General of the Republic of Ghana in Ireland. Both personalities are said to have played major roles in the affairs of Ghana.

To bring the curtain down for the day, the Executive of AGPI was introduced and inducted into office by Mr. Edward Coffie. The M.C for the day was Mr Julius Buameh. For more information about AGPI, please visit www.agpireland.org.

Kofi Owusu-Ansah Secretary, AGPI