WHO STARTED COCOA SMUGGLING IN GHANA, THE TETTEH QUARSHIE STORY

How cocoa found its way to Ghana or the Gold Coast was an issue of debate during the colonial era but that was resolved my Sir Gordon Guggisberg who declared that Tetteh Quarshie was the first to bring cocoa into the Gold Coast. The contenders were the Basel Missionaries and a reputable colonial Farmer; however this is all history I need not bother you with.

Recently the issue of who is taking cocoa out of Ghana has cropped up in the media, costing people their jobs and once again reiterating the corruption that exists in our public service. When is smuggling a forbidden thing? Everyone knows the story of Tetteh Quarshie, a trained blacksmith, who travelled to Fernando Po (now Bioko in Equatorial Guinea), worked on cocoa plantations and how he smuggled cocoa beans into the Gold Coast. Back then, exporting cocoa seedlings and beans were forbidden, the cocoa trading business had been monopolized by the Portuguese and the Spanish.

Tetteh Quarshie; daring Ga man and avid farmer that he was; saw the importance of the cocoa tree and decide to bring it home to his land of birth. The cocoa tree ideally named Theobroma (Food of the gods) Cacao has many uses and this was not lost on Tetteh Quarshie. For six years, he sought a way to transport the precious beans and like all great ideas it occurred to him in the most unlikely place; a call of nature. I wonder if he knew the risks involved in such a daring act. Risks aside, it was an excellent plan and he bravely carried it through.

With the seed now safely and warmly in the Gold Coast (;)), he toiled for 3 years to cultivate it. This was because the climate was quite different from what prevailed in Fernando Po. His persistence paid off and the tree blossomed he shared the precious beans and his knowledge cultivating it with his fellow farmers and the rest is history.

Today, he is a celebrated statesman with hospitals and intersections named after him. His cocoa farm is a tourist attraction and chocolatiers and cocoa lover’s world wide travel to come and see it. Ghana now earns a chunk of its foreign exchange from its export and many describe it as the bulwark of Ghana’s economy. Now to the present day smugglers, are they being outlawed because we perceive them as being unpatriotic? What you gain by foul (no pun intended) means, shouldn’t you lose by foul means? The statement; live by the sword; die by the sword rings true here. So next time you feel like pointing fingers at the customs officials or the police service think again. We owe a chunk of our economy to a smuggler.

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