What is the Wakawaka Movement?
The Wakawaka Movement is a vibrant cultural initiative that harnesses the power of music, dance and tradition to inspire the African diaspora to reconnect with their roots in Ghana. Rooted in the spirit of homecoming, the movement creates a bridge between the continent and its global communities by celebrating the rich heritage of Ghana through festivals, performances, and cultural showcases. More than just entertainment, Wakawaka serves as a call to action—encouraging members of the diaspora to return home, invest in local opportunities, and contribute to the nation’s growth while immersing themselves in an authentic, joyful experience. Through rhythm, movement, and shared culture, the Wakawaka Movement transforms homecoming into both a celebration and a catalyst for lasting connection and development.
Origin of Wakawaka
Wakawaka is West African pidgin for hard toil, endless pursuit, relentless suffering, or perpetual pain. The origin of the word Wakawaka in this context is driven from a song entitled: Wakawaka Pikin by Cheef Chebe. According to Cheef Chebe, the song Wakawaka Pikin is the emotional depiction of the hardship and toil African people suffer around the world. The song illustrates the deep emotional constipation faced by many Africans abroad, a perpetual toil in which there is very little progress and very little point to which this perpetual toil should continue to last. In Wakawaka Pikin, Cheef Chebe laments the suffering of Africans in the diaspora and appeals for mass remigration back to the motherland Africa for a new beginning/a restart.
The Wakawaka Pikin is not yet a famous song in Ghana or the world, but it is already trending on the vibrant coastal street of Kokrobite in the outskirt of Accra where a new Wakawaka Studio and Wakawaka HQ are situated.
Who is Cheef Chebe?
Cheef Chebe is a positive African visionary and the author of the African Dream. Among many other things, Cheef Chebe is a gifted African folklorist, oral tradition historian, drummer, balafonist, composer, producer, arranger, director, broadcaster and an awesome multi-genre musician.
Cheef Chebe has over a quarter of a century experience of sharing the heartbeat of Africa to Scottish schools and wider Scottish/UK communities through African drumming, creative music, bibliotherapy and African storytelling workshops.
With three decades experience of living and working overseas, Cheef Chebe returns to homeland Africa/Ghana with a great purpose: to reset/relaunch himself and make a legacy cultural contribution to Ghanaian and African society through the Wakawaka Movement – a cultural movement of creative art, music, dance, and festivals designed to welcome the Ghanaian and African Diaspora home. His creative mission: to generate interest in positive-Africanism, reconnect people and communities, inspire investment in African creativity, showcase the beauty, the fascinating art and the cultural brilliance of Africa through the Wakawaka Movement!
Wakawaka Movement 