Ayekoo, Ghana! It’s Ghana’s Independence Day and we are celebrating the West African country, rich in culture and history.
Ghana became the first Sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from colonial rule on March 6, 1957. Three years later, in October 1960, Nigeria followed suit and gained her independence.
Both nations have had close ties for years, people even often refer to them as ‘siblings’. This mentality is not farfetched, as both countries share many similarities.
To mark Ghana’s Independence Day, we have listed five similarities between the two countries:
Music
It’s quite a struggle to differentiate between Nigerian songs and Ghanaian songs, except the song is done in their indigenous language. Quite a number of Nigerian and Ghanaian artists are industry besties, for example, Nigeria’s Wizkid and Ghana’s King Promise and R2Bees, Nigeria’s Davido and Ghana’s Stonebwoy, Nigeria’s Joeboy and Ghana’s Kuami Eugene, etc. There have even been theories and debates over which country truly owns the ‘Highlife’ genre.
Spicy foods
One of the countries that can match Nigeria in a spicy food competition is Ghana. Their cooking styles are so alike that the debate for who makes the better ‘Jollof Rice’ will never go away.
Sports
For a long time, the two countries have been considered solid football nations, especially in African football. Ghana has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times, while Nigeria has gripped the title three times.
Film
The Nigerian movie industry, Nollywood, and the Ghanaian movie industry, Ghallywood, have been intertwined for decades. Numerous Ghanaian actors are very prominent Nollywood stars and vice-versa. The likes of Juliet Ibrahim, Van Vicker, Nadia Buari, Yvonne Nelson, John Dumelo, etc, are all Nollywood stars from Ghana.
Traditional clothings
Both countries have very similar designs and styles representing their various cultures. For example, the Ghana traditional cloth ‘Kente’, is almost the same as the George and Aso-oke clothing of Nigeria.
For the icing on the cake, here’s a bonus:
Social Media Rivalry
Nigeria and Ghana have an unending rivalry on social media. We cannot exactly say how this rivalry started, but it is always hilarious when it starts. Their fans constantly compete for virtually everything; sports, entertainment, politics, and even Jollof Rice. They call it a ‘love-hate’ relationship, we call it comic relief!
Happy Independence Day Ghana!!