Ghana: The Head of State calls on Africa to unite to obtain reparations for slavery

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo called on his African counterparts on Tuesday to unite in seeking reparations for transatlantic slavery and the damages caused during the colonial era.

«The entire African continent deserves official apologies from the European nations involved in the slave trade», said President Akufo-Addo during a conference on reparations gathering African leaders in Accra.

«No amount of money can repair the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade and its consequences. But this is an issue that the world can no longer ignore», he added.

However, the Ghanaian president did not specify the form that financial reparations for transatlantic slavery could take, which organized the trade of millions of people from West and Central Africa to the Americas.

President Akufo-Addo, whose country was the first on the continent to gain independence in 1957, had previously called for reparations before the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Urging Africa to collaborate with the Caribbean to advance reparations, President Akufo-Addo added that it was a “legitimate demand for justice.”

As a reminder, Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, a former colonial trading post for the slave trade, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

Smith OKAFOR