President John Mahama has called on Africans and members of the African diaspora across the world to unite in the pursuit of reparative justice and the dismantling of false narratives about Africa.
He said the time had come for Africans to flip the narratives and the modus operandi of those who had distorted Africa’s story to suit their interests and divide the continent.
“Anything in this life once stripped of its power will no longer work. That is true of stories, especially ones that are complete fabrications. Let’s take the narrative of those who oppressed us and work it.
“In fact, let’s take their entire modus operandi and flip it and reverse it. I urge you, my brothers and sisters, let’s be more intentional about our unity than they were about our division,” he said.
President Mahama was speaking at the Diaspora Summit held at the Accra International Conference Centre on Friday, December 19, 2025, under the theme, “Resetting Ghana: The Diaspora as the 17th Region”.
The President expressed confidence that Africans and members of the diaspora would achieve their shared goals with a common purpose, regardless of past divisions.
“We’ve always tried to find our way back to one another. Africans in the diaspora whose forebears were enslaved have kept us in their rhythms,” he said.
He paid tribute to Pan-Africanists such as Marcus Garvey and Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, for their roles in advancing unity between Africans on the continent and those in the diaspora.
President Mahama said the Black Star, which features prominently on Ghana’s flag, had become a defining symbol of the country’s national identity due to Pan-African ideals and underscored the rallying call for the unity of African people.
The President reaffirmed his commitment to move a motion at the United Nations next year for the recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as the greatest crime against humanity.
He called on Africans and the diaspora to support the motion in the fight for reparations from those who benefited from historical injustices.
“I know this motion will enjoy the utmost support from the entire African continent and the diaspora. Africa has suffered slavery, colonialism, genocide and apartheid.
“We demand acknowledgement of these crimes against humanity. We demand the establishment of legal, institutional and international mechanisms to advance reparative justice,” he said.
Items recovered during the operation include tramadol tablets, seven pairs of scissors, one mobile phone, one television set, and one motorcycle.
President Mahama said reparations must include tangible measures such as debt cancellation, monetary compensation, the return of stolen artefacts, institutional reform and transformative economic redress within the global economic system.
He said Africans and the diaspora were at a critical stage in their collective journey and must speak openly about past injustices to counter attempts to push the continent backwards.
“They want us to develop some sort of amnesia about the blood that was spilled, the lives that were lost, and the years that were sacrificed in order to fight for our freedom. We are at a place in our journey where we do not have the luxury of forgetting,” he said.
President Mahama argued that with some government officials now using words such as garbage and filth to describe Africans, there was no room for forgetting, excusing racist dog whistles or explaining overtly discriminatory and divisive statements made daily.
“This is precisely the time when we must advance and begin the process of reclamation. This is precisely the time when we must speak loudly and clearly, naming what it is we have lost as well as what it is we hope to gain,” he stated.
For his part, the President of the Council of Ministers of Togo, Mr Faure Gnassingbé, stressed the need for reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and colonisation, describing them as essential to Africa’s development and global stability.
He said recognising past crimes was not enough and called for concrete actions and institutions to transform memory into law and faith into progress.
President Gnassingbé proposed measures including debt cancellation, the establishment of multilateral funds for education and innovation, and new legal commitments at the United Nations.
He also underscored the importance of the African diaspora in achieving sovereignty and urged collective governance and healing to address historical wounds.
He called for a redefinition of Africa’s place in the world, anchored on economic sovereignty, the mobility of knowledge and sustained investment in youth and the diaspora.
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