Africa Umoja recently thrilled Ghanaian fans at the National Theatre to what many described as a fantastic performance from the rainbow nation, South Africa. Owing to this fantastic performance, many have questioned our own industry arguing we could have equally organised such a performance and even pulled more crowd than what Umoja did. Professor F. Nii-Yartey, an Associate Professor, Department of Dance Studies, School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana clearly agrees and blames government and its institutions for failing to put in place structures to strengthen theatre arts in the country. Speaking in an interview with Myjoyonline.com, the professor who is also the Director of NOYAM African Dance Institute, an institute he established in 1998 to formally train dancers at pre-University level, was not happy with the way the country disregards the arts. He said countries that excel in the arts and theatres are those who take it serious and have structures in place. A clear example he said is Umoja. “They (Umoja) have structures in their country that help to get them where they are. With dance and production on stage, it takes much more than just having dancers who perform and you also have to have something to compare with.” “They (our leaders) take care of health, education, economics, politics, so take care of the arts and culture of your people or else you don’t exist,” he advised. He cried that, “Sometimes I hear people say KSM (Kwaku Sintim-Missah) can fill the place (the National Theatre) so as a National Dance Company, you can fill the place. That’s how we talk and that’s a pity. Each artistic area has its followers, has its own dynamics.” “If you go to Germany, for every hundred thousand people, they’ve put up a theatre. As you put up theatres, you train people to empower them and at the same time you are training them to become agents of the country’s image and development. Art is the carrier of the image and value of a country,” he noted. He said Ghanaians don’t support their own as we constantly go to foreign missions and donors to support the arts in Ghana. “My people are paid pittance” he bemoaned. When asked if there is no collaborative effort between the theatre arts and the National Theatre Board, he remarked that theatre goes beyond boards. “Our leaders need to travel to see what is going on in other countries, not conferences” to learn from them and implement it here. “You don’t only put a school in place and say we have School of Performing Arts ... What have you done for the school?" He asked. Professor Nii-Yartey however applauded Charter House for bringing Africa Umoja to Ghana saying, “We should have many more of such groups here. You do that to revamp what you have and tickle your own artistic community to respond.” He also advised that arts and culture should be an examinable subject starting from the basic level, government and Ghanaians should place value on the arts and also make it a part of our developmental agenda. Story by Ernest Dela Aglanu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana