Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo also called for reparations during this year’s UN General AssemblyImage caption: Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo also called for reparations during this year’s UN General Assembly
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has urged African and Caribbean leaders to unite in demanding reparations for historical injustices committed during slavery and colonialism, terming the action “a valid demand for justice”.
He said that Africa was owed reparations by countries that participated in slavery as the practice had stifled Africa’s progress.
“No amount of money can restore the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade and its consequences. But surely, this is a matter that the world must confront and can no longer ignore,” Mr Akufo-Addo said on Tuesday at an ongoing reparations conference in Ghana’s capital, Accra, and attended by leaders from African and Caribbean nations.
The conference seeks to build a united front and formulate a plan to guide African countries and the diaspora in pursuing reparations.
Mr Akufo-Addo has been vocal in pushing for apologies and reparations from countries that participated in slavery and colonialism.
In September, he told the United Nations General Assembly that “no amount of money would ever make up for the horrors, but it would make the point that evil was perpetrated”.