Gift Joseph Okpakorese
The citizens of Ghana are yet again happy to receive the news of their country being picked to host another organisation , as the German Government has decided that they will be ready to support the intentions of a German organization, who are willing to bring the German-West African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention to Ghana.
According to the story, which was confirmed in a statement released by the German Ambassador to the general public, it read that;
“Excellent news: Germany will support the launch of a new “German-West African Center for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention,” the German ambassador to Ghana, Christoph Retzlaff, tweeted on his official handle on Thursday evening. “It will be located in Ghana and be part of 8 new centers worldwide to fight global challenges.”
Recall that this action and decision of
Germany towards Ghana arrives less than a few days after Twitter confirmed they will establish its African headquarters in Ghana. The announcement brought out so many reactions from African users worldwide especially Nigerians.
“Today, in line with our growth strategy, we’re excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana,” the social media giant noted in a blog post published on Monday evening while reiterating its commitment to invest in talents whenever it enters new markets.
“To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”
Meanwhile, when Twitter was quizzed by media outlets on their choice of Ghana, they simply responded saying that the decision was as a result of the fact that Ghana was “a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate.”
The aforementioned opinion of the organization did not go down well with many, especially Nigerians, as reactions and counter-reactions arose online by numerous users of the microblogging platform saying the development is an indictment on the Nigerian government and some well-meaning Nigerians, acknowledge this statement to be correct, to say the least.
Some other individuals while bemoaning the fact that Nigeria was disregarded, maintained that, if things were working perfectly, the country’s population should be attractive enough for the technology corporation to have established its base in Nigeria. However, the FG reacting to these accusations, shifted the blame on unpatriotic Nigerians for Twitter’s choice, contending that the country was demarketed by the same persons.
In a statement released by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, in Abuja on Thursday, he remarked to journalists that;
“The reasons cited by Twitter for citing the headquarters in Accra, Ghana is that Accra is a champion of democracy and there is rule of law in the country, among other reasons. This is what you get when you de-market your country,”
