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Why not a ‘Tetteh Quarshie Day’?

Why not a ‘Tetteh Quarshie Day’?

Fantastic news that cocoa drinking and chocolate eating are to be high on the national agenda – again! But if so, my question is: what happened to the plans for a Day to honour the man who introduced cocoa to the then Gold Coast, Tetteh Quarshie?

When are we getting a Tetteh Quarshie Day? In my view, this is long overdue!

As expected, the importance of the ‘Golden Pod’, and cocoa farmers was highlighted at the celebration of World Cocoa Day in Kumasi earlier this week. The event also marked the 70th anniversary of the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod).

Addressing the double celebration event on Monday, President Nana Akufo-Addo underscored that “the history of Ghana’s cocoa cannot be complete without mention of Tetteh Quarshie, through whose efforts the cocoa industry was established and nurtured,” citifmonline reported.

Significantly, he also recalled the critical but largely unacknowledged roles played by other patriots, notably Dr J.B Danquah, whose agitation eventually led to the establishment of the Cocoa Marketing Board, now simply Cocobod.

In line with the recurrent campaigns over the years to get Ghanaians to consume more Ghana cocoa, President Akufo-Addo announced a plan to provide every Ghanaian schoolchild, from basic to the secondary level, “with a bar of chocolate or cocoa beverage each day whilst in school”. Clearly, this is for economy boosting as well as health benefits.

The Kumasi ceremony, themed 70 years on: Mobilizing for a Sustainable Cocoa Economy’, also saw the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, named ‘Cocoa Consumption Ambassador’.

It is more than fitting that a cocoa consumption programme is being brought back to the front burner. The fame of Ghana cocoa, Ghana chocolate and chocolate made from Ghana cocoa elsewhere, has spread internationally.

For example, in South Korea, the well-known confectionery company, Lotte, has chocolate bars named ‘Ghana’. Their boast is that Koreans love and have been eating the ‘Ghana Chocolate’, made with Ghana cocoa, for more than 40 years.

Yet, here in Ghana, home of the ‘Golden Pod’, evidently so nicknamed because of cocoa’s role as Ghana’s main foreign exchange earner, there are many cocoa farmers who have never tasted a cocoa drink, or a bite of chocolate. And that goes for their children, too!

So the earlier the cocoa consumption initiatives announced by the President begin, the better!
But, I ask again, shouldn’t the nation do more to celebrate Tetteh Quarshie? This takes me back to certain issues I raised in a 2014 column and an abridged version follows:
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On the 172nd anniversary of the birth of Tetteh Quarshie, some members of his family were reported to have expressed their serious discontent over the neglect of their family (by successive governments).

I think that the complaint of the family is certainly worth the Government’s attention. After all, if the intrepid and visionary Tetteh Quarshie had not smuggled some cocoa beans into the country from Fernando Po and cultivated them, who knows how this country would have managed without what we proudly call our ‘Golden Pod’?

Is it not about time that we had a Tetteh Quarshie Day? If my memory serves me right, this idea has been mentioned from time to time, and is awaiting implementation.

A Tetteh Quarshie Day would be a fitting national recognition and complement the main structures named after him, the hospital at Mampong-Akuapem and the interchange in Accra. It could also be linked to a revived National Chocolate Day on February 14.

Maybe what the Tetteh Quarshie family should be seeking is for Cocobod to institute a special scholarship scheme for (his descendants) to enable them enjoy free education up to the tertiary level.

I’m also thinking that the Ministry of Tourism could adopt the Tetteh Quarshie farm and museum at Mampong-Akuapem as two of its flagship attractions. Given the right packaging, the farm and the museum would attract both domestic and foreign tourists.

Further, the family could be given a role in the venture so that they benefit from the earnings. Such a venture would also promote his national status and help us know more about him.

Certainly I, for one, am curious about Tetteh Quarshie. What was it in his character that made him so adventurous and pragmatic?

It is very intriguing that this blacksmith and part-time farmer went fortune-hunting in Fernando Po (reportedly the present Bioko in Equatorial Guinea). Moreover, once there and having found cocoa to be a wonder crop, he was visionary enough to see it as something he should bring back home. What remarkable foresight!

(Although normally I’m not a follower of the stars), as Tetteh Quarshie was born on March 27, according to the horoscope that makes him an Aries (March 21 – April 19). Interestingly, in Greek mythology, Aries is said to represent the ram with the coveted Golden Fleece. Perhaps Quarshie’s instinct told him that cocoa would be his country’s Golden Pod!

Two sentences stand out in the description of the Aries personality: “When it comes to getting the ball rolling, an Aries is the best. Pioneering everything (including) work-related projects, these folks go for the gusto.”

Yes, Tetteh Quarshie definitely had a pioneering spirit – and Ghana must thank God for that! (Issue of April 4, 2014, ‘About Tetteh Quarshie, the fish and the tiger’.)

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It seems to me that the 70th anniversary year of Cocobod is an appropriate time to establish a Tetteh Quarshie Day, as well as construct a statue in his honour. We already have a Tetteh Quarshie Interchange, so why not put his statue there?

And this is not about another holiday, but just the deserved, additional recognition. February 14, Valentine’s Day, has been observed as National Chocolate Day in Ghana for some years. Why not just rename February 14 as Tetteh Quarshie Day?

But I’ve been wondering: if before Tetteh Quarshie brought cocoa home it was unknown in this part of West Africa, as is believed, and now Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana are the world’s two leading cocoa exporting countries, how did Cote d’Ivoire too its cocoa?

Maybe those who know will tell!

Should there be a Tetteh Quarshie Day and statue in Cote d’Ivoire, too?

Or, better still, perhaps the two fraternal countries should be celebrating a joint Tetteh Quarshie Day!

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