Abeiku Santana, Deputy CEO in charge of Marketing and Special Duties at the Ghana Tourism Authority, has weighed in on the recent online conversation surrounding Fugu, expressing concern over how easily culture can be misunderstood in the digital space.

Speaking in an interview on Joy Prime via Zoom, Abeiku Santana said he was surprised by how some Gen Z users mocked the President’s traditional outfit. According to him, such reactions often stem from a lack of cultural understanding.

“I was a bit surprised that some Gen Zs took a swipe at our President’s costume,” he said. “When you don’t understand someone’s culture and you make mockery of it, it only exposes your ignorance. For me, this is worrying because the youth of Africa make up about 60 percent of the population, most of them aged 25 and below.”

He emphasized that the future of the continent rests largely in the hands of young people and questioned how Africa can move forward if its own youth ridicule their heritage.

“The destiny of Africa is in our hands. If we are mocking ourselves and our cultures, how do we expect to achieve the African Union’s Agenda 2063?” he asked. “We are already in 2026. How many years do we have left to reach that goal?”

Abeiku Santana therefore called on the current generation of young Africans to be more intentional about preserving their cultural identity and actively pursuing the vision of a united Africa.

“The youth must rise to the responsibility of uniting the continent,” he said. “That vision can only be achieved if we first learn to respect and appreciate who we are.”

Writer: Frederick Nortey