Ghanaian YouTuber and travel vlogger Wode Maya says President John Dramani Mahama stood up from his seat to give him a warm hug when he joined the President’s meeting with Ghanaians living in Russia, on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow.
Wode Maya shared the moment in a post on X on Friday morning, along with a photo of the embrace.
“Yesterday while attending the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, I learnt that the President of Ghana was meeting members of the Ghanaian diaspora in Russia, so I decided to join them,” he wrote. “The moment I arrived, I was introduced with the words, ‘Wode Maya is here!’ What happened next touched me deeply. Mr President stood up from his seat just to give me a warm hug.”
The content creator, whose YouTube channel tells stories from across Africa, used the moment to reflect on his journey. “Sometimes, I look back at my journey, from a young man with a camera and a dream to tell Africa’s stories to moments I never imagined experiencing,” he wrote.
“Thank you, Mr President, for the consistent love, kindness and respect you continue to show me. I never take it for granted,” he added.
President Mahama is in Moscow for the third Russia-Africa Summit, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to YEN.com.gh, the President arrived in the Russian capital on Monday, 26 October, and a day later received an honorary doctorate from the Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University). YEN reports that Wode Maya was also in Moscow for the summit and shared the same message on Facebook.
The post has been widely shared, with thousands of likes on X by Friday afternoon. Many users praised the President’s humility, and some suggested Wode Maya should be given an official role promoting Ghana abroad, YEN.com.gh reports.
Wode Maya has been posting content from his trip to Russia. On Thursday, he shared a video on X titled “This is Not Russia I Expected!”
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