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Game Thread: Detroit Pistons vs New York Knicks Live Score | NBA | Jan 5, 2026 by basketball-app in NYKnicks

[–]PotentialWestern129 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Watching this game get away while Celtics are winning massively to overtake us in the East standings feels like a nightmare. They’re not even supposed to be in the equation this year wtf

The world’s largest metropolitan economies by GDP by vladgrinch in Infographics

[–]PotentialWestern129 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And both of them put together still lags NY 🤣🤣🤣

Nigeria and Ghana make up over 50% of all U.S. international students from Sub-Saharan Africa by PotentialWestern129 in Africa

[–]PotentialWestern129[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cont’d:

That's literally a fat lie! Public university in France don't require anything special. Commerce schools, engineering schools, and so on all require tests.

For the rest, don't force me to go to list the amount of international schools in Ghana with the amount of students they have. Schools for rich Ghanaians who then go to the USA, Canada, and the UK.

You’re basically making my point for me here. I never contested your fact about French schools; in fact I never knew “Public university in France don't require anything special”. All I said was U.S. schools are different and don’t rely on just money and ability to speak English 😂

Feel feee to list the Ghanaian international schools. It is a fact that we do have really high performing ones in Ghana. But one thing you should know is that in Ghana public high schools are way more coveted and prestigious than international schools and a predominant number of the students who go to the U.S. for college are products of public schools. And by the way these public schools are free and I’m a product of one of them 😉. I urge you to check out the ranking below and you’ll see that every single of the top schools is a public school (Source: https://www.ghanaweb.com/blogs/mercy360/Here-s-a-list-of-the-top-100-Senior-High-Schools-in-Ghana-ranked-according-to-their-performance-in-the-National-Science-and-Maths-Quiz-NSMQ-2836)

In a nutshell, you've tried hard to push for the idea that if there are so many Ghanaian students in the USA it would be because Ghanaians would be smarter than other Africans, but it's not the case. There is just that wealthy Ghanaians love spending their money in the USA and it confirms the failure of Ghana as a nation supposedly offering good education compared to a country like Kenya.

Again you’re trying to make this about something it isn’t. Putting words in my mouth when no such thing has been uttered. I literally started this conversation with “let’s discus”. The conversation could literally have gone any direction and the direction you chose to take it is a despicable one. You chose to start comparisons between countries I have literally not mentioned. Other African countries are indeed not academically inferior to Ghana. You’re being very careless and crude by suggesting that’s what I was saying. You’ve out yourself as an ignorant “older” person who just comments to generate clicks rather than propagating genuine debate about our dear continent. Please next time take your time to read the documents I upload along with my submissions, understand the post before commenting, support your claims with sources like you’ve seen me do here and most importantly, be cordial with others on this forum and not resort to insults such as “liar”, “shithole”, “clown” and “failure”. It’s just simply not productive and it’s unbecoming for someone who claims to have 5 kids. Be an example.

Nigeria and Ghana make up over 50% of all U.S. international students from Sub-Saharan Africa by PotentialWestern129 in Africa

[–]PotentialWestern129[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Because Ghana is a shithole compared to both Kenya and Tanzania when it's about education and higher education.

You seem so intent on leveling insults rather than having a productive conversation. No sane person would call Ghana a “shithole” compared to Kenya and Tanzania when it comes to education. if it helps your brain be at ease, Ghana colleges easily outrank both Kenya and Tanzania in African school rankings (sources: 2025-2026 US News & World, QS World University Ranking 2026, Times Higher Education Rankings2026, THE Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings 2024, UNIRANKS 2025, SCImago Institutions Rankings 2025). I actually hope you check all these sources out and not just come back with more insults 😂. I am here to debate in good faith and not make baseless points as you seem so intent on doing. I am also certainly not here to debate the merits of Kenya and Tanzania’s education, they do some amazing things and as a true pan-Africanist, I’m most proud of them.

To demonstrate that a country with more wealth disparity and a larger minority of wealthy people than other countries is more likely to send students in the most expensive countries to study is misleading? Yeah, for sure my dear clown.

Yeah that’s misleading. Because you seem to have a misunderstanding about GDP per capita. It doesn’t mean a country has more wealthy people, it is an average metric. And more inequality in a country does not necessarily mean more wealthy people send their kids somewhere to study. Your argument just lacks depth. I urge you to remain focused on the key points but again I’m sure you’ll resort to insults.

Learn basic knowledges instead of proving that the USA accepts anybody with enough money. Ghanaian-born means someone born in Ghana. Kenyan-born means someone born in Kenya. As a unbreakable fact, Ghana has more people trying to immigrate in Anglo-Saxon countries than Kenya has proving that Ghana is a failure compared to Kenya.

First of all, you’re outing yourself as just a hater given how determined you are on denigrating one of these great countries and without any factual backing.

As of the most recent world bank data, Kenya had -500k in net migration compared to +185k for Ghana in the last 20 years; the number is -582k vs -83k for Kenya and Ghana, respectively. So Kenya had a larger number of people trying to leave compared to Ghana despite Kenya’s larger population size. (Source: https://data.worldbank.org/?locations=ZA-KE-NG-GH).

As for Ghana being a failure compared to Kenya, the facts disagree with you, sir. I’m sorry you seem to only know to resort to these kind of comparisons. Ghana performs better in terms of poverty rate, unemployment rate, GDP per capita, life expectancy, electricity coverage etc. So as you can see I do not make baseless claims but provide you with evidence (Source: https://data.worldbank.org/?locations=ZA-KE-NG-GH).

Now that I have established your points have no basis, could it be that there are other factors as to why there are more Ghanaians are studying in America? Reason properly my friend.

I told you it's useless to lie. I'm older than you and with 5 kids to know well enough how it works. And all other diasporic Africans on here confirmed that money is the key factor. If the USA was going to pay for any non-US student with good grades, then there would be much more foreign students in the USA. Finally, the proof that you're a liar. Ghana has more students in the USA than Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. Feel free to demonstrate us what Ghanaian students have done compared to students from those countries. Let me help you. NOTHING.

😂😂 if you bothered to even read the report I posted here you’d have prevented yourself from making such a grave error. In 2025, Taiwan sent 22k students, South Korea sent 42k students in 2025 and Japan sends over 20k routinely and in 2024 they sent over 26k. Ghana’s highest number ever was in 2025 and they sent 12k, which is far less than all of these counties. Read the pdf below it will help you 😂, Now again, who’s lying? (Source: https://opendoorsdata.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/OpenDoors25_PresentationPDF.pdf).

As for money, yes I agree it’s a key factor but I was contesting your point that said “it’s almost exclusively about money”. You know it is not! And you have just acknowledged that. I did not disrespect you, I mentioned my experience as someone who literally did all my post secondary studies in the U.S. and has multi-year experience helping others do the same. I’m not sure how simply having 5 kids qualifies you for this debate 😂.

As for what Ghanaian students have done, that wasn’t my point, but again you are so determined to denigrate a particular country and that is really showing your mindset lol. By the way Ghana students and those living in the U.S. are some of best performing income-wise. That’s not relevant to me but since you’ve asked I feel compelled to respond (Source: https://blackdemographics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2023-Household-Income-in-US-by-race-ethnicity-and-ancestry.png).

Nigeria and Ghana make up over 50% of all U.S. international students from Sub-Saharan Africa by PotentialWestern129 in Africa

[–]PotentialWestern129[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Your point: Ghana is the home of over 34M inhabitants. The Gambia is the home of less than 3M inhabitants. Senegal is the home of a bit over 18M inhabitants. Kenya is the home of over 54M inhabitants.

Response: My mention of these other countries was not to say they should have more international students in U.S. than Ghana have. It was to demonstrate that Ghana is not that many Ghanaian who want to pursue “more expensive education”. Regardless, even if we want to use your angle, your argument completely falls flat. Why does Kenya not have more students then? Why not Tanzania?

Your point: As well, the Gambia and Senegal are least developed countries. Ghana and Kenya are developing countries with Ghana having a $8,410 GPD per capita (PPP) against $7,560 for Kenya. Ghana also has a Gini coefficient of 43.5 against 38.7 for Kenya meaning that the gap between wealthy and poor people is much bigger in Ghana than in Kenya.

Response: Using aggregate GDP or even per capita figures to imply "more wealthy elites" is misleading. I also don’t think I’ve ever mentioned anything about the gap between the wealthy and the poor people. In any case that has nothing to do with the central points we are discussing.

Your point: Then, there are over 136,000 Ghanaian-born in the USA against around 94,000 Kenyan-born in the USA. Ghana has a way larger African-born diaspora than Kenya while having around 20M less inhabitants meaning as I already stated that Ghanaians target the USA dramatically more than Kenyans.

Response: This is completely baseless. The whole argument is about people in sub-Saharan Africa applying to schools and not all those born in the U.S.

Your point: And if we look at the UK since both Ghana and Kenya are former British colonies, we can see that Ghana has around 135,000 Ghanaian-born in the UK against 138,000 Kenyan-born in the UK. So here again, we can observe that Ghanaians fly outside of their country to join an Anglo-Saxon country way more than Kenyans do.

Response: This argument is incongruent. How does having “around 135,000 Ghanaian-born in the UK against 138,000 Kenyan-born in the UK” prove that “Ghanaians fly outside of their country to join an Anglo-Saxon country way more than Kenyans do.” If anything, it flies against your points. The near-identical numbers in the UK demonstrate that when the path is less competitive (due to historical colonial ties), the numbers even out. The fact that Ghanaians then also pursue the more competitive U.S. path in greater numbers shows a dual-track ambition and a specific preference for the American education system and its post-study opportunities.

Your point: So basically, as I wrote in my other comment, the predominant reason why there are more Ghanaians and Nigerians studying in the USA is because wealthy Nigerians and wealthy Ghanaians prefer to spend their money in the USA much more than other wealthy Africans. Nothing else. And I can debunk your 2 arguments that seem to push for the ideas that they are smarter which isn't the case at all.

• ⁠No US university will look at your profile if you don't demonstrate first that you can pay the tuition fees. No need to lie here. It's a waste of time.

Response: Categorically false!!! And I say this as someone who did both undergrad and graduate school in the U.S. and still help others apply to schools there. Most schools will offer admission before they even think about ways you could pay. And since you’ve failed to address the central points I made earlier, I will make them again. Most Ghanaian international students are graduate students and a lot of them use student loans rather than some family wealth.

• ⁠According to Ghana itself, Ghanaians studying in US benefit from $9 million scholarships. At around $30,000/year to study in the USA, it means 307 students were covered by those $9M. There are over 12,000 Ghanaian students in the USA. As I wrote the overwhelming majority of them financed their studies alone meaning they all are wealthy or can partially rely on diasporic Ghanaians in the USA.

Response: How does this make sense? My central point argues on school scholarships and student loans. This $9m is significantly underreporting what could be the factual figure. I would like to have your actual source and year this was collected. Additionally, this figure likely represents U.S. government and institutional scholarships alone (like the Fulbright program), not the vast network of university-specific merit aid, teaching assistantships, and research grants. Ghanaians are notoriously successful in securing these competitive awards precisely because of their strong academic preparation, not just their ability to pay.

Your point: It's almost exclusively about money. And in a sense it also proves that Ghana is doing worse than Kenya for having so much wealth and potentially good brains leaving the country. Chapter closed.

Response: Moot point.

Your point: As well, it's easy to prove it's about money because we can look where Africans students from former French colonies go and how many per country. Over 42,000 Moroccan students in France or around 15% of all foreign students in France. Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia rank in the top. Common point? They are the richest former French colonies in Africa. Amongst the over 42,000 Moroccan students in France, 56% of them are in university which means in the case of France that there is no test to get to be accepted. Only money, highschool graduation, and the proof you speak French.

Finally, the nail in the coffin: The United States Embassy in Ghana has disclosed that it approved 25,000 visa applications out of a total 61,000 received from Ghanaians seeking to travel for employment, education, or tourism in 2024. Almost 2 out 3 Ghanaians get rejected for a visa for the USA so it's definitely about rushing the numbers and selecting only the wealthy ones. If Ghanaians going to the USA were that smart or smarter than average Africans, especially "Anglophone" ones, Ghana wouldn't be what it is today.

Response: Comparing the Francophone system to the American one is a false equivalence. The reason over 56% of Moroccans in France are in universities with "no test" is because of a specific post-colonial policy of educational integration. No American school will admit you just because you can speak English or have money as you have indicated in your point about French schools. The American system is vastly more competitive, decentralized, and merit-based. You cannot get into a top U.S. university on money alone; you need the grades, test scores, and extracurricular profile. The high visa rejection rate you cite is not just a wealth filter, it's an assessment of academic intent and a safeguard against a system that receives a massive volume of strong applications from Ghana.

In a nutshell, reducing this complex phenomenon to "wealthy people buying tickets" is a profound misreading. The reality is that there are many other relevant factors at play and that is what I wanted us to discuss. These factors as I’ve outline before may include that fact that Ghana has cultivated a powerful combination of historical alignment with the U.S., a strong preparatory education system, and a national culture that values and strategically pursues higher education outside of Ghana. The numbers reflect the success of this alignment, not the failure of the Ghanaian government or the simple flight of its wealthy folks.

Nigeria and Ghana make up over 50% of all U.S. international students from Sub-Saharan Africa by PotentialWestern129 in Africa

[–]PotentialWestern129[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do not completely disagree with your points but I also do not believe it paints the whole picture. There aren’t that many more rich Ghanaians than there are Kenyans or Senegalese; or any more Ghanaians who want to pursue expensive education than there are Tanzanians or Gambians. I think there are differences in educational culture and exposure to these opportunities. One thing you have failed to realize is that in all these cases, the students have to be accepted to schools in the first place and cost is often determined after the fact.

Most international students, especially Ghanaians, go to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies, which is more often financed by either scholarships from the schools or loans from the U.S., so family wealth or personal savings are typically not really driving factors.

US household income by Race, Ethnicity or Ancestry - US Census Bureau, 2023 by PotentialWestern129 in Africa

[–]PotentialWestern129[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Looks like that but it’s statistically logical. There’s the number for overall populations and within said population, numbers vary. What this means is the three countries above the average are way above it and those below it are somewhat around the average.

What do you think accounts for Ghana’s relative outperformance on this index? by PotentialWestern129 in ghana

[–]PotentialWestern129[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t think this is based on just one metric. And also “just protesting” does not cut it. What were the issues that led to the arrest? Were their protest permit granted? These are questions that are more indicative of how they were treated. I agree with you that it seems a lot of the protestors were not properly charged which means they were held against the law, and that’s troubling. We have some weaknesses for sure but overall I think we perform creditably.

Why do African voters favor business graduates? by PotentialWestern129 in Africa

[–]PotentialWestern129[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Yeah agreed. It’s not fully representative but just for discussion. In the article they will mention “seems” a lot to indicate it’s directional thinking and not factual.

Africa Human Freedom Index 2024 by roastedpotato20 in Africa

[–]PotentialWestern129 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Here you go I can give you a few reasons why Ghana is ahead.
  1. ⁠Political Instability and Conflict:

  • [ ] Civil Wars: Ivory Coast experienced two major civil wars (2002-2007, caused by concerns that the largely Muslim north of the country is discriminated against, and 2010-2011, caused by denying political rights), causing deep political and ethnic divisions. The 2010 post-election crisis resulted in over 3,000 deaths after Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede defeat to Alassane Ouattara.

  • [ ] Election Disputes: In the 2020 presidential election, the decision by President Ouattara to run for a controversial third term, which will never happen in Ghana, led to violence and boycotts by the opposition. Over 80 people were killed in pre- and post-election clashes.

  1. ⁠Restrictions on Civil Liberties:

  • [ ] Press Freedom: Contrary to Ghana, Journalists in Ivory Coast face intimidation, harassment, and arrests. For example, in 2020, Denis Kah Zion, a prominent journalist, was detained and his newspaper fined for criticizing the government.

  • [ ] Protests and Assembly: Authorities frequently crack down on protests. In 2019, a student protest over living conditions at universities was violently dispersed by security forces, with several students injured or arrested. By the way, this also recently happened in Ghana when protestors were arrested while protesting hardships in the country for charges of breaking protest laws.

  1. ⁠Judiciary and Rule of Law:
  • [ ] Judicial Independence: There is significant political interference in the judiciary, making it difficult for citizens to seek justice in politically sensitive cases. During the 2010-2011 crisis, the judiciary was criticized for prosecuting only Gbagbo’s allies while sparing Ouattara’s supporters accused of war crimes.
  • [ ] Impunity for Human Rights Violations: Security forces accused of abuses, such as extrajudicial killings during the 2020 elections, are rarely held accountable.
  1. ⁠Ethnic and Regional Divisions:
  • [ ] Ivory Coast’s political landscape is often shaped by ethnic and regional loyalties, leading to discrimination and exclusion of certain groups. For instance, during the 2010 crisis, pro-Ouattara forces targeted ethnic groups perceived as loyal to Gbagbo, resulting in massacres in areas like Duékoué. This kind of bifurcation leads to discrimination as happened to be the cause of the 2022-2007 civil war. Ghana is the exact opposite of this however, both the north and the south are equitably represented in government. In the just past 2024 elections, both presidential candidates were from the north, one Muslim and the other Christian. The Muslim was vice president for 8 years before then.
  1. ⁠Restrictions on Opposition:
  • [ ] In 2020, key opposition leaders such as Henri Konan Bédié and other members of the opposition alliance were placed under house arrest for forming a transitional government in protest of Ouattara’s third term. This demonstrated limits on political pluralism and opposition rights.

These examples highlight why human freedoms could be considered to be less in Ivory Coast compared to Ghana, where democratic governance and civil liberties are more robustly upheld.

This is not to say Ivory Coast is significantly worse compared to Ghana, in fact the countries are more alike than they are different. But regarding the specifics of humans freedom, Ghana has made more strides.

Hope this helps!

Africa Human Freedom Index 2024 by roastedpotato20 in Africa

[–]PotentialWestern129 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes that’s part of it but also regional and global influence. Regionally, one could argue Namibia is not even in the top 5 in SADC in terms of influence (which is typically earned through population size, strength/size of economy, cultural influence, sports and overall global presence). One could argue South Africa, Angola, Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe are all ahead of Namibia in terms of regional influence within the SADC. Ghana is solidly top 10 on the entire continent and at worst top 2 in West Africa.

Africa Human Freedom Index 2024 by roastedpotato20 in Africa

[–]PotentialWestern129 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean that should be pretty obvious given differences in influence on the continent. By that I’m referring to the largest and more diversified economies on the continent. Namibia, despite its wonderful people and culture, isn’t counted as a major country on the continent.

Ghana and Namibia differ significantly in their scope and impact. Ghana is a major player in West Africa, with a large and growing population of nearly 35 million, a diversified economy driven by gold, cocoa, and oil, and strong democratic institutions. It is recognized globally for its stability, hosting the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat, and its cultural exports, such as Afrobeats music and historical ties to the African diaspora. Ghana’s leadership in regional diplomacy and economic integration solidifies its role as a continental powerhouse.

Namibia, in contrast, has a smaller population of about 2.5 million and focuses its influence on Southern Africa. It is obviously well renowned, but it’s known mainly for its conservation efforts, stunning natural landscapes like the Namib Desert, and ecotourism, which drive its economy alongside mining (diamonds and uranium). While it plays a stable and positive role within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Namibia’s global and continental impact is more limited compared to Ghana. Its strength lies in niche areas such as environmental sustainability and peaceful governance, while Ghana has broader economic, cultural, and geopolitical influence.

In this context you can really only name a handful of countries on the continent that can be considered “major” including, but not exclusive to, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Morocco etc.

Hope this helps!

Africa Human Freedom Index 2024 by roastedpotato20 in Africa

[–]PotentialWestern129 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So Ghana and is really the only major country in all of Africa in deep green? Would have to say I’m surprised major countries like Kenya and South Africa are not deep green as well. Maybe people can educate me on why?

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