Meet the presenter: Ghana

“My name is Akua, although I am known to everyone as Blakofe.

Ghanaian by birth but British by naturalisation, I have returned to live in my motherland.  

When people ask me what I do, I find it very difficult to answer their question.

Television, radio, a  presenter, a producer, an events organiser, an MC, an actress, a choreographer and dancer – I do so much within the arts that I don’t really know what to call myself!

Brew Riverson, one of Ghana’s top actors, once called me the “human chameleon”. I think that aptly describes me.

Presenting and TV production is something I have always wanted to do and I run a small company, KoFeBean Entertainment. Our philisophy is “whatever you want in Ghana we can make it happen”.

I grew up with television. A very lonely childhood meant that it was often my best friend.

I found so much happiness in that little box that I just craved to be in that world.

Twelve years after leaving school, I attended a school reunion and nobody was surprised to hear that I am now working in television.

Living in Ghana as someone who is involved in the arts is frustrating simply because Ghana still has not reached the point where the arts are considered serious work. 

Very few people can actually make a decent living from working in this industry alone.

So you find that our top presenters, musicians, actors, poets are often also bankers, street hasslers or shop owners.

This does not help the development of the arts as valuable time that should be spent honing our crafts are spent hassling for our daily bread.

Everyday people tell me: “Blakofe you have so much talent. You should go to America or South Africa.”

But I love the quality of life in Ghana and think I have the perfect balance – living in Ghana but working with international companies. 

Looking at the arts, it is incredible what you can discover here in Ghana. From sculptors to traditional musicians to writers to the young men weaving furniture on the street to children making toy cars from empty tins.

Ghana has so much talent, but the industry has not matured.

However, I have hope and a deep faith that our industry can and will grow and I guess that is why I choose to remain in Ghana.

Most people already know me for the programmes I present on television, but when they heard that this production was for Al Jazeera, you could see the looks of pride, admiration and respect on their faces. 

Ama, our fixer, had done a superb job in co-ordinating the production so that everywhere we went it was hassle-free.

I absolutely loved working for Artsworld and look forward to the series.“