Culture
“Damn Right, I’m Coming Back to Ghana!”: IShowSpeed Responds to Mahama’s Presidential Shout-Out
American internet sensation IShowSpeed (Darren Watkins Jr.) is officially hooked on Ghana — and the feeling appears mutual, even from the highest office in the land.
In a clip that has taken social media by storm, President John Dramani Mahama gave a warm, humorous nod to the streamer’s viral Ghana trip during a recent public address.
Recounting how his own children excitedly showed him footage of Speed at a shea butter museum in the north, the President described the now-iconic moment:
“This young man was lucky. I saw him lying down and about 10 girls all with shea butter were massaging this boy… He opened his mouth as if he couldn’t breathe.”
The audience at the event where Mahama spoke erupted in laughter, but Speed — watching the clip later — couldn’t contain his delight.
“Oh, the president watched my streams, enjoying it,” he exclaimed, before emphatically declaring: “Damn right. I’m coming back.”
The exchange perfectly captures the ongoing love affair between IShowSpeed and Ghana.
Since his high-energy visit in January 2026 — where he toured Accra, tried local food, danced, visited cultural sites, and even received Ghanaian citizenship — the YouTuber has repeatedly expressed affection for the country, its people, and its culture. He has constantly declared his new Ghanaian name, Barima Kofi Akuffo, with pride to his millions of followers.
Fans on X, TikTok, and Instagram have dubbed the shea butter spa scene “the most Ghanaian welcome ever,” with memes, reaction videos, and calls for Speed to return flooding timelines. Many Ghanaians see his genuine enthusiasm as a major tourism win, especially among younger global audiences.
President Mahama’s light-hearted commentary acknowledges the impact of Speed’s visit. It reflects the warmth and hospitality that have made Ghana a growing favourite among diaspora travellers and international content creators alike.
Whether Speed makes good on his promise remains to be seen — but if the President’s massage story is anything to go by, Ghana is ready to roll out the red carpet (and the shea butter) again.
Reels & Social Media Highlights
Ghana’s Timeline Erupts: Showboy’s Crude Plea, Asantewaa’s Silence, and a Nation Divided
On Wednesday, 14th October 2026, Ghana’s social media didn’t just trend — it combusted. At the center of the firestorm: Showboy, a deported ex-convict and self-styled provocateur, posting a video begging TikTok star Asantewaa to sleep with him because “everyone has chopped her except me.”
The phrase — crude street slang for sex — detonated across Facebook, X, and TikTok, splitting users between outrage, disgust, and reluctant laughter.

The Asantewaa saga had been simmering for weeks. First, rapper AMG Armani claimed a one-night stand and a pregnancy.
@notorioustrend1 Showboy Goes Hard On Asantewaa For Exp0sing Some Secret In Her Marriage On TikTok Live #ghanabloggers #ghanatiktok🇬🇭 #asantewaaaaa #showboy #notorioustrend ♬ original sound – Notorious🥷 Trend📸
Then Asantewaa herself explained she left her husband over sickle cell genotype compatibility, insisting she wasn’t with Armani until after the split. Showboy’s video poured petrol on the embers.
But the timeline wasn’t only burning with celebrity gossip. In Obuasi, the GES interdicted a headmaster accused of sexual misconduct after students rioted and vandalized school property.
The story — girls alleging assault inside the headmaster’s bungalow, a menstruation claim used as pretext, a school in ruins — resonated because it echoed a painful national truth: institutions meant to protect children often fail them.
Meanwhile, in Agona Nkwanta, a viral video of a man assaulting his wife led to a three-month jail sentence on the very same day, a rare moment of accountability that many users celebrated, even as they questioned why it took a viral clip for justice to move.
What made October 14th distinctly Ghanaian was the collision of these stories.
A culture wrestling publicly with how women are treated — by men like Showboy who see clout in disrespect, by authority figures who abuse trust — while simultaneously turning tragedy into meme fodder, joke captions, duet videos.
Festivals & Events
MaddFest 2027: Welcome the New Year with a Night of Celebration in Accra
As the festive season winds down, Accra has one more reason to stay awake. Live in Ghana – MaddFest arrives at Alora Beach Resort on January 3, 2027, promising six hours of nightlife and celebration for partygoers eager to keep Ghana’s festive spirit alive.
Organised by December in Ghana, an event organiser with experience hosting entertainment events, MaddFest forms part of the social energy surrounding Ghana’s popular festive season, when music, nightlife and gatherings draw locals and international visitors together.
A Night Out by the Beach
Scheduled for Sunday, January 3, from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., the event offers an opportunity to experience Accra after dark in a beach resort setting.
While specific performers, food offerings and activities have not yet been detailed, the event’s late-night format promises an extended opportunity for guests to socialise and enjoy the city’s entertainment scene.
Ghana’s December festivities have grown into a major attraction for the diaspora and international travellers, with concerts, parties and cultural gatherings creating opportunities to reconnect with home and discover contemporary Ghanaian music and lifestyle.
Events such as MaddFest contribute to this atmosphere, where entertainment becomes a meeting point for different generations and cultures.
Why MaddFest Deserves a Place on Your Calendar
For visitors, MaddFest offers a chance to experience Accra’s nightlife beyond daytime sightseeing.
Ghanaians returning from abroad may also find it an opportunity to reconnect with friends and enjoy the country’s lively entertainment culture.
The event is not presented as a traditional cultural festival, but its social setting reflects the role music, dancing and shared celebrations play in Ghanaian life.
With Alora Beach Resort providing the setting, guests can plan a night out that extends into the early hours of Monday morning.
Whether you are visiting Ghana for the festive season or simply looking for another reason to enjoy Accra, Live in Ghana – MaddFest offers a date worth considering. Check the official event listing for ticket details and announcements before making plans.
Arts and GH Heritage
Inside Togo’s Abandoned Colonial Building, African Artists Reclaim Cultural Memory
A shared bowl of palm wine, a handful of kola nuts or a lively exchange between market traders can tell a story that words alone cannot capture.
In Atakpamé, Togo, artists Kojo Biney and Ray Agbo are exploring these everyday encounters as powerful expressions of African identity, using art to reconnect cultural memory with a complicated colonial past.
Their exhibition, Conversations: Symbolism and Lifestyle, forms part of the Karp Kamina Artists and Researchers Residency 2026.

Presented inside an abandoned German colonial building, the exhibition brings paintings and sculptures into dialogue with newspaper pages, creating an unusual encounter between personal memory, public history and contemporary African expression.
Reading the Symbols of Everyday Life
Atakpamé, known as the “city of seven hills”, sits within a cultural landscape shaped by Ana and Ewe-speaking communities. Here, social relationships are often expressed through gestures, shared rituals and objects whose significance extends beyond their practical use.
Biney and Agbo draw attention to these familiar practices, inviting audiences to recognise the cultural knowledge embedded in ordinary interactions.
Their work suggests that traditions survive not only through formal ceremonies or written records, but also through repeated acts of hospitality, negotiation and togetherness.
A Colonial Space, Reclaimed Through Art
The exhibition’s setting adds another dimension. A building associated with German colonial rule becomes a place where contemporary African artists examine the identities and relationships that history cannot fully contain.

The newspapers displayed alongside the artworks further complicate the encounter, prompting questions about whose stories are recorded and how collective memory is preserved.
Closing on October 16, 2026, the exhibition offers a timely reminder that heritage is not simply inherited; it is continually interpreted.

By transforming an abandoned building into a space for artistic exchange, Biney and Agbo invite visitors to see cultural memory as something communities can actively question, share and renew.
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