Ghanaians beat drum for Obama, hail 'change' call

By Daniel Magnowski and Kwasi Kpodo

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghanaians gave U.S. President Barack Obama a jubilant welcome on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as head of state on Saturday, hailing his achievements and his African heritage.

Accra residents applauded the message from America's first black president that Africa must take responsibility for solving its own problems, though tight security and roadblocks meant few were able to catch sight of him.

Radio stations played a selection of laid-back reggae grooves with vocalists lionizing Obama as the first black man to sit in the White House, and imploring him to pay renewed attention to the continent of his father's birth.

On the streets, drummers in bright yellow T-shirts showing the faces of Obama and Ghana's President John Atta Mills celebrated "a partnership for change," while some who heard Obama's speech hailed it as a "wake-up call for Africa."

Still, expectations about what the Obama administration can do for a continent riven by disease, corruption and conflict were anchored in reality.

"It's childish to assume that President Obama will immediately improve the fortunes of Africa overnight," said Accra lawyer Magnus Asante. "He must first of all pay attention to the world financial crisis which by extension is also taking a toll on our continent," he said.

Ghanaians, some wearing deep blue shirts with Obama's smiling face printed on them, welcomed his declaration in parliament that "Africa's future is up to Africans."

"It was a wake-up call for Africa," said visiting Nigerian journalist Stella Williams. "He was not talking about the U.S. as just handing out aid but being a development partner, and he's asking Africans to build manpower and infrastructure."

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Though Ghana has taken plaudits for December's peaceful and democratic transition of power, in contrast to many other African countries, and hopes are high that its expected 2010 debut as an oil exporter will bring new wealth to the country, the former British colony has its problems.

President Mills' government has so far failed in its attempts to reduce inflation, which has hovered around 20 percent since the start of the year, and, struggling with a high budget deficit, the government is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for around $1 billion to boost foreign exchange reserves. In June, the World Bank agreed a $535 million package to help stabilize the economy.

"We should use the platform which the visit offers to attract more investors to the country," said an editorial in Saturday's edition of the Daily Graphic newspaper.

Aid packages, it said, "should not replace entirely our responsibility to take our destiny into our own hands."

Other Ghanaians rejoiced in the symbolic endorsement of their country that a presidential visit bestowed, while recognizing that a short visit from Obama would not transform Ghana, much less the continent as a whole.

"I am not under any illusion that he's coming to solve our problems in one go, but the long term benefits are enormous," said Janet Ashiboe, 42, a market trader in Accra.