The call for reparation is not a plea for arms but a valid demand for justice, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.
According to him, if reparations could rightfully be paid to the descendants of the victims of the holocaust, then it was only just and fair that same was paid to the descendants of the victims of the slave trade.
“Reparations for Africa and Africa Diaspora are long overdue. Predictably the question of reparation only becomes a subject of debate when it comes to Africa and Africans. When British ended slavery, all the owners of the enslaved Africans received reparation to the tune of some £20million, the equivalent today of some £20billion, but the enslaved Africans themselves did not receive a penny. Likewise, in the United States of America owners of slaves received $300 to every slave they owned but the slaves themselves received nothing,” he stated.
President Akufo-Addo who was speaking at the opening of the Accra Reparations Conference (ARC 2023) said there was no question about the issue of reparations when it comes to Africa.
The conference conveyed under the auspices of the Africa Union was under the theme: “Building a united front to advance the cause of Justice and the Payment of Reparations to African.
It was attended by the Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Union of Comoros, Azali Assoumani; President of the Republic of Togo, Faure Essozimna Gnassigbe, and President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embaló.
The rest were the Prime Minister of Burundi, Gervais Ndirakobuca; chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat and the leader of the British Reparations Movement and British-Ghanaian Member of the United Kingdom Parliament, Bell Ribeiro-Addy.
President Akufo-Addo said it was important to emphasise that no amount of money could restore the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade, and its consequences would linger on for centuries.
“But surely, this is a matter that the world must confront and can no longer ignore,” he added.
The President said even before the discussions on reparations were concluded, it was imperative for European nations that engaged in the slave trade to render a formal apology to the entire Africa and Africans in the diaspora.
“Africa deserves a formal apology from the European nations involved in the slave trade for the crimes and damage that is caused to the population, psyche image and character of the African the world over.
He said the Caribbean Community Charter had unequivocally pronounced its demand for the payment of reparations and as Africans Africa must work together with them to advance the cause of reparations.
President Akufo-Addo said apart from the reparations, the initiative for the return and restitution of African cultural properties to the continent must also be a major issue of concern for all Africans.
On his part, the Chairperson of the African Union Mr Assoumani said the conference was to strengthen the continent’s unity for the cause of justice.
He said the decision for reparations to be paid to Africa and African diaspora was adopted by the African community as a whole with a united front.
Mr Assoumani said the history of slavery and colonialism was a dark place of the continent’s history which had been characterised by exploitation, suffering and injustice inflicted upon Africans.
He said whether it was transatlantic or colonialism, slavery created an irreversible harm within the African population, adding that “It was millions of Africans who were uprooted through their families, through homes, through the cultures, from their languages and history and this brought incommensurate consequences which continue to wreak havoc to the continent today.”
He therefore called on Africans to take hold of their history and recognise its effect and take concrete steps to demand for reparation.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
