THE UNITED STATES & GHANA.

President Barack Obama is planning to meet with his counterpart from Ghana, President John Evans Atta Mills, at the Oval Office today, the significance of it will not just be two men reuniting and reminiscing over their friendship from the Obamas visit to Ghana in 2009.

It will be more than that, as Ghana being the first African country to declare independence from Britain in 1957, has a vital role to play in the affairs of the continent, whose natural resources have been the bedrock and mainstay of modern civilization; yet, it has been neglected in so many aspects, such as in formal education, basic health concerns and inadequate housing for its people.

To this day, Africa has been known as the dark continent, not just for the brand of its negroid population, but that true advancements, into using its richness in cultures and traditions, have been slow in coming to be recognized by the outside world, as they were demurely looked upon as antiquated and remote.

Its (Africa's) importance has been reduced to being pieces of tourists attractions, here and there, with castles along the West African coast receiving thousands of visitors each year, for them to elicit a little bit of history, particularly, where slavery to the Americas has originated, was concerned.

Of course, if it has not been for Africa, there would not have been America as we knew it today. Its labor force grew the economy out of a complete wilderness, from cotton and sugar cane plantations, with such products being sold in Europe to build nations in the New World, including the United States.

Yet, Africa itself has been lagging in almost every sphere of achievement, in terms of having good and clean water for drinking and the kind of healthcare and scientific research that could eliminate Malaria, a disease that has decimated millions of its population, especially, children and the elderly. Next to that was Leprosy, and other serious ailments, which should be in the past. They should all be dealt with, to bring up the life expectancy rate, which was very low in many parts of Africa.

In a nutshell, Africa has too many problems, enough to cover its surface area of thousands of square miles, from South Africa to Ethiopia, and from Kenya to Senegal; where agricultural lands could be used to grow food in abundance for the hungry and the poor, instead of shipping milk powder and cornmeal from overseas to fight starvation there.

The two leaders would be discussing all kinds of topics, and reaching decisions to be fodder for the media; but they (decisions) must not be just on paper, like the form of a formal statement coming out of the White House at the end of every such diplomatic meeting. They must be practical and could be put into actual deed on the ground for others to see their outcome, as benefiting the people, not just in Ghana, but in the whole of that continent.

In other words, playing host to each other should be secondary. Tackling real problems should be their main objective, to assist the economic and political growth on the continent. The world must not leave Africa behind, as it was part and parcel of its (world's) well being and development.

Strengthening ties between the two countries would be more than essential, but bringing Africa to the U.S. to gain support for its myriad of issues and finding solutions to them would be far more important.

The people of the U.S. would wish both leaders well in all their deliberations.