Vice President of Ghana John Dramani Mahama in NYC

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• published: 13 Jul 2012
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On July 10th, Vice President of Ghana John Dramani Mahama visited the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York City for his first public presentation of his new memoir, "My First Coup'D'Etat" and other True Stories From the Lost Decades of Africa. The book is Mahama's first publication and takes an inside look at his experience growing up in the period he terms "Africa's Lost Decade" From the 1960s-1980s Africa suffered numerous coups, saw the rise of murderous and corrupt dictators and weathered economic turmoil. Mahama began the evening reading an excerpt from the book that detailed his memories of when Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown in a coup in 1966. Vice President Mahama, whose National Democratic Party is standing for re-election this coming December along with current President John Evans Atta Mills, talked about how Ghana has emerged from the lost decades and is experiencing a renaissance. After a Q&A; session with the audience, Vice President Mahama hosted a book signing and interacted with members of the Ghanaian community in Harlem. Mahama, who grew up with 18 siblings in Northern Ghana, was joined on stage with several of his siblings who he features endearingly in his memoir. But he acknowledged that after his book writing, the Ghanaian campaign trail is calling.