Letter from Africa: Can satellite make science popular in Ghana?
In our series of letters from African journalists, veteran Ghanaian journalist Elizabeth Ohene ponders whether Ghana’s new satellite will change attitudes towards science.
We do not like science very much in this country.
We prefer to ascribe spiritual and miraculous explanations to all things that happen in our lives. Accidents, deaths, ill health, passing and failing exams, finding a partner, wealth, poverty, good fortune – none of them have scientific explanations.
The rest of the world has probably heard that Ghana has successfully launched its first satellite into space. It certainly made headlines on the BBC, but you would have missed it completely if you were depending on the news outlets in our country. [Read more]