On several occasions, some Ghanaian celebrities have accused Ghanaians on media platforms for not patronizing their products or services.
They put their case in one of these forms: “they (the fans) will say Hiphop is not a Ghanaian genre of music but they are the same people who patronize Hiphop songs by Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Chingy and others,” “they criticize Ghanaian movies for being fraught with guns and bloody scenes but they are the same people who watch and appreciate Hollywood movies with the same scenes,” “they play foreign musicians songs without taking any money from them but they take monies from us before playing our songs,” amongst others.
In principle, I agree 100% with our celebrities. However, the argument should be a two-way effect, because, you can’t eat your cake and have it. These celebrities who accuse Ghanaians for not patronising what they do are also the same people who patronize foreign products at the expense of made in Ghana products! As an entertainment writer, I get disappointed any time I visit entertainment related events.
For example, our celebrities who should showcase made in Ghana fabrics or African wear, are mostly in foreign (western) apparels. For instance, during last year’s Ghana Music Awards, about 70% of the celebrities who graced the red carpet and were asked ‘who are you wearing?’ shamefully wore foreign fabrics and even went further to give free mentions (publicity) to those designers.
So what is the difference between you – a Ghanaian celebrity, giving free publicity to an American or Italian designer in Ghana at a revered platform like GMA, to a Ghanaian radio presenter or DJ also playing Celine Dion or R. Kelly’s songs without any charge? A high number of Nigerian celebrities rock their Nigerian prints with pride. They call it “Ankara.” The “Ankara” industry is booming in Nigeria.
