Ghanaian travel vlogger, Berthold Kobby Winkler Ackon, popularly known as Wode Maya, has revealed the ordeals he endured traveling with an ordinary passport, including deportations, arrests, and even physical assaults.
He says the handing over of a diplomatic passport by the Government of Ghana now makes him feel honoured and protected.
Speaking exclusively to Ghana Weekend on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, after receiving the passport from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wode Maya said: “I feel so excited, I am a diplomat now so you have to call me His Excellency. I am so happy the country decided to honour what I do.
“It has been so hard travelling with an ordinary passport. I have been deported, arrested, sometimes even beaten because of the passport I was holding. We don’t share some of these things. I believe this will protect and defend Wode Maya sometimes, so thank you to the government of Ghana, especially President John Dramani Mahama.”
Wode Maya was among five distinguished Ghanaians honoured with diplomatic passports at the ceremony. The others are Grammy-nominated reggae artiste Rocky Dawuni, broadcaster and entrepreneur Anita Erskine, contemporary visual artist Ibrahim Mahama, and British-Ghanaian entrepreneur Dentaa Amoateng MBE.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the initiative is part of efforts to recognise Ghanaians who project the nation positively on the international stage.
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