Ghana has Gone -- to the Finals!!

There was something poignant about being in Nigeria during their ignominious defeat by Ghana at the Cup of African Nations semifinals. The match was played in Luanda, Angola.


Restaurant patrons in Abuja airport intensely watch televised Ghana-Nigeria match.

We watched from the airport in Abuja while waiting for a flight to Lagos. All nonessential activity in the airport was shut down for the match. All eyes were on the TV sets that each shopkeeper and office had brought in for the event.





Headlines in one local newspaper screamed "Ghana must Go!" which was the slogan Nigerians used many years ago when they evicted Ghanaian citizens from their territory.



It is also the name that some Nigerians and Ghanaians still give to the plastic woven sacks sewn into bags and used to carry large loads of clothing. Those were the bags used by many unhappy Ghanaians as they boarded flights (if they were lucky) or overloaded vans (if they were not lucky) to depart Nigeria.


Ghana striker in white battles two Nigerians in Cup of Nations match.

Ghanaians still remember, and so the win over Nigeria this time around must have been particularly sweet. Ghana now takes on Egypt in the finals. All this sets up the World Cup in South Africa in June, where Ghana has also won a spot in arguably one of the world's most widely watched sporting events. Ghana will represent Africa in the World Cup no matter what happens in this weekend's final with Egypt in Angola.