 My goal on this channel is not to make any African country look bad but the goal of this channel is to promote every single African country in a positive light to the world. The goal of this channel is to encourage more Africans to travel within their own continent because I believe that Africa belongs to Africans and it's time for Africans to cherish it. But sometimes the struggles of an African trying to explore their own continent breaks my heart. Things like this that happens at our borders always breaks my heart. I've been deported in an African country. I have been arrested in an African country. I don't know when at all an African love himself because if you treat me bad you are treating your own self bad because we are just one people. I wonder why we are just one people but borders like this keeps on separating us. Can I ask you a question? You don't think we need to change this as Africans? Change what? I'm from Ghana yeah. I'm going to a neighboring country which is Togo. And I have to pass through so many documentations before I go. On your way back stop by and have this conversation because you will be depressed. I'm telling you. I'll be depressed going in here? You'll be depressed going from here to cross the Ghana Togo side and cross the Togo Benin side and on your way back. When she said that I thought she was joking but believe me or not it's more than a nightmare. It tells a pitiful story of who we are that we can continue blaming colonialists for all we want but they didn't go for so long. We need to wake up and smell the coffee. Thank you. We need to wake up. All these seemingly kind of hand-cooked things that we are doing business in against ourselves. It's depressing really. Truly, truly depressing. Look, I'm willing to break a few protocols speaking the way I'm doing because it's dear to my heart. I'm a member of the committee that ECOWAS has set up to look at the reparation of stolen goods of Africa. And we had a meeting in Benin. And I want as a guest of ECOWAS, you have no idea. Even as a guest of ECOWAS, I thought that we could do better and we can do better. The excuses are too much. When they all go and sit down in ECOWAS on our behalf, I expect them to do better than they are doing. I expect our leaders, our presidents, I expect all of you to do better than you are doing. You owe it to us as your citizens and we are demanding that you do right by us. Pure and simple. Pure and simple. Thank you for this. I've been advocating for free movement of Africa for quite a long time. I mean look at Europe. Look at America. Borderless. Can you imagine? 51 countries. And here, just because I speak a different foreign language, foreign language, the language that binds four countries, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, the language that binds us is Ava. There are people who speak my language in Nigeria. So they are members of the committee that ECOWAS has set up and currently I am the interim chair of the Ava Commission. The Ava Commission has four countries in it and all of us have that common language. Why the heck should the foreign language matter? Just because I can't speak French, they have to terrorize me and make me feel so bad and just because they can't speak English, we have to terrorize them that make them feel bad. We need to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery. This is mental slavery. This is indeed a mental slavery. And I wish Africans can understand that we are just one people that were divided by borders and it's about time we start loving ourselves as a nation. There's no reason. Look, there's a young lady here called Sophie. She makes the best yamf food. And we don't eat cassava and gratin. We eat yamf food. Even if I want to go and eat Sophie's food, I have to go through a lot of protocol to go and eat Sophie's food. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. But why? Same people. Same language, same food, same dance, everything. But we've been divided by this border. This thing, this thing. They suffer for you. It's not wonderful we're being delayed here at the border and they're having us come in there. I became a Ghanaian citizen and I got my ECOWAS card. Now what are they doing? They're not letting us across the border. I don't even know because even me, they're holding me. I'm serious. They're holding me. How is that possible? See, it's possible. They're holding on to Maya. I love the fact that the Dash Prince are connecting back to the motherland and it's time for the government of Africa to create a system that really supports the Dash Prince coming back home. Because whenever they come back home, they want to feel at home because they've been through a lot in the diaspora. You don't expect them to be going through racism in the diaspora and when they come back to Africa, they go through discrimination. This is what we're trying to avoid if we are telling our brothers and sisters to come back home. So, most of you will be wondering what really happened. This is our flower border. I was on my way to Benin to go for the Voodoo Festival that is happening in Weida. I hope we are not going to Weida. Are you going to Heza? Why? So, we are going for the festival. Yeah! Wow! So, as a Ghanaian with ECOWAS passport, I need to just cross the border with no issues by just getting my stamp. I had all the documents for my car and everything but that alone, we had to spend over one hour at the Ghana border, which I think it was even way smoother, it's just that the process was a bit tedious. This whole process is frustrating man, like we spent an hour already and nothing is happening. We had to go stamp our passport, stamp our passport from the Ghana part. We have to go register the car, we have done that already and they are saying that we cannot move if we don't show them the paper so it's like he has the thread over there, you see. So, he is like he is arguing like what is going on, this guy is like he needs a paper before he allows him to pass but I have already taken the paper from us already. And we are in Africa here and we are struggling like this is mental slavery man. And right after that, that is when all the wahala happened, when we are trying to get a stamp from the Togo border, just to enter Togo, then from Togo to Beni. So now we are done with the Ghana side, we are about to face another wahala at the Togo side. This is crazy man. What does it say? According to the law, citizens of the countries of the economy, okay the ECOWAS have the right to travel, yeah of course. But what are they telling you? That you got to pay. But they are saying that they cannot enforce it. That's what they are saying, they cannot enforce it. Okay, we are also going to check it out right now and then I will let you know what happens man. So how much did you pay? Zero. You didn't pay? Apparently at the Togo border they will not stamp your passport if you don't give them 2000 safer. Did they ask you out for money? So did you pay for it? Some of you paid. No receipt. Even with an ECOWAS. Even with an ECOWAS. Then I have to challenge that I am not going to pay, because I have an ECOWAS passport. I am sending your picture to Mama Vera. No, do that, okay. Which I have no problem paying the 2000, but the problem that I had, the fact that they said no receipt for paying 2000 franc. I was there and I saw a lot of people killing and all these people are waiting to pay the 2000. Those who don't have 2000 get stuck at the border. I don't understand this, this is the Togo border and they are telling us that we have to pay 2000 for each passport and you don't pay, we are not stamping your passport and when you stamp your passport, no receipt. According to the ECOWAS law, if you have an ECOWAS passport, it's okay for you to pass through. In reality, any member can not have it to 90 days. They have not been subject to any form of harassment. We are not going to stay paying for our residence permit. You are breaking the law. You are breaking the law. So now we finished this crisis and she's like, I'm not going to take your passport if you don't give me 2000. Come. They mean, they mean. Why they mean? Will you give me receipt for the meal? Wow. They saw me narrating what happened on camera and all of them were super scared and they grabbed my camera and that caused the chaos. I had to fight for myself because even the Ghana immigration border was saying that I'm so sorry, I wish I can help you. But what happens in Ghana stays in Ghana and what happens in Togo stays in Togo. So he has no power. So I had to hold my camera, stand firm and I said, I'm not giving you this camera today, not tomorrow. Let's go. Hello. Let's go. Yes. They thought you were taking the video. That's why they are here. They are here. They are here. They are here. They are here. We don't think that. They said because of the video, that's why they are called to serve. No, no, no, no. We're not talking about our rights. We're not talking about any video. They are talking about our rights. We are talking about the people who already have ever was caught. We've already talked about it. They should not let our sister out and they should not. We have elders here. You people are extorting money from elders. That's not extorting. I'm 78 years old. You asked me for money and I've been a Ghanaian citizen for a long time. We are all white people. You need to stop that nonsense. You are no better than us. We are no better than you. We are white people. You got to stop the ignorance. But they don't get that. You need to stop that ignorance. They think they're friends. You need to stop that ignorance. They think they're friends. You need to stop that ignorance. They think they're friends. But listen, the reason why we do such videos is to change what happens at our border posts. I'm not here to make any country look bad but I believe that the president of Togo and the president of Equas I mean the chairperson of Equas who happens to be my president the excellence in the Nado Dancwa I think something must be done at this Aflau border because to so many people they are scared of using that border. So in order to resolve the chaos I was called into another room by the director of the immigration officers I think he's really a great man because he resolved the issue peacefully. Whilst we're trying to resolve the issue peacefully I saw my fellow sisters right behind the gates chanting let him go. Let him go. Let him go. This gomi moshra to see Africans living in the diaspora fighting on my behalf on the right course because this is what we need as Africans we all need to come together and fight what is wrong. For me, I'm being a scapegoat just for the next people that will be travelling to Togo. I don't want them to pay that 2000 francs. I think it's not even Togo that is this is happening from Togo to Benin border or even Benin to Togo border or whatever anybody that you know let me know your experience in African borders because we need to change this with this video. That's why I'm pleading with you all share this video on any platform that you can and tag anyone that you think needs to see this video because this must change now. I still can't believe that in 2023 an African needs to spend more money to explore their own continent. If I say more money you have to spend more money on flights more money on your accommodation more money by bribing officials to get your way into another African country. When at all will an African will be liberated when at all will an African will be liberated when at all will an African from Ghana will just pack his bag and say that I'm going to Togo without being exploited when at all as a young African can sit in a train from Ghana and say that I'm going to Benin to explore another African country. Sometimes I wonder if the A.U. still exists I wonder if the echo has even functions I wonder if the sadic region listen to the youth of Africa and sometimes don't get it most of the time if I come in here to advocate for borderless Africa it's not because I'm going mad it's not because I'm doing this for personal gains as an African traveling in Africa to promote Africa to the world certain things are obstacles and I wish to see more Africans exploring their own African country without all these restrictions I'm speaking straight from the heart because we've had enough enough is enough I don't know if African leaders watch my video but do me a favor if you're watching this video I want you to like this video share this video tag any African leader because enough is enough what happened to the African passport what happens to an African getting visa on arrival as soon as he enter into another African country Africa belongs to Africans and no one else can come to Africa without the visa yet an African from Africa cannot even travel from one African country without visas why are we our own enemies I think we need to start having such conversations on the continent because we are tired if I want to marry from Kenya it's okay I should just wake up one day and go to Kenya and get a wife without any restrictions these borderless are not our own creation it was not created to benefit an African it was created by a colonizer yet the colonizers are gone but still Africans leading the continent are not ready to change this seamless border that we see every single day and as I was telling another gathering you know these borders and I also mentioned to my brother these borders that you create silos for yourselves amongst you must always remember are not your creation these were creations of people outside of this continent who made these borders not to develop you but to extract from you now that you want to develop yourself we must start looking at these borders and we must start removing the barriers that we have put that have defined and defined us in the past and now hinder us from being the giant that we should be it's super sad I mean if you want to do business in Africa business is not done in a vacuum you cannot trade within a vacuum it's people who trade so movement of people is what we call trading you need each other and you need to support each other and as I always state you are not competitors and I think the big mistake we have made is by making each other competitors we are not competing we have yet to satisfy our respective markets our problem is that we are not working closer together to meet the demands that our people have final message to everyone watching this video yes we should be able to pass through Africa freely as black people period we don't have to stop at borders we came all the way across the water to get here we don't not have to cross borders like this and pay every single time that's my final word to you but I would like to say we all have our proper ID we should not have to stay here at the Ghana border and we are all Ghanians we should be able to pass on to the Togo border we have been here we have been here for two hours and if we have our papers in order we shouldn't have to stop here on this end as opposed to waiting until we get to Togo what's the purpose of the Ekawas card what is the purpose thank you all so much for watching don't forget to like share and subscribe I will see you all in the next Benin Vlog