Ex-President Nana Akufo-Addo
The journey towards the international recognition of the unparalleled ills of slavery in the history of humanity and, indeed, the quest for accompanying reparations was started by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during his tenure.
At the time, political cynics did not regard the mission as worthy of attention let alone support.
Today, thankfully the journey has culminated under his successor President John Mahama in the achievement of such a recognition at the United Nations (UN). What better location than this comity of nations to achieve this recognition.
The former President’s role and now his successor’s in the achievement of this feat both require commendation. The initiator, especially, deserves special mention.
His decision to champion this cause was not without the verbal attacks of commentators who saw everything in the country with the political lens.
Such persons sought to give the project a negative optics because that suited their regime-change mentality.
Some of the killjoys bastardised the former President’s reparation demands as intended to fill his personal pockets.
To think some of these persons are supposed to be persons of repute in society makes us understand better how mischief can drive otherwise educated persons to such moral lows.
While some of such degraded persons have been ashamed like mongrels, tails tucked between their hind legs, others are showering praises on the President as though he is the initiator of the project, oblivious of their earlier positions on the subject.
One of such persons is reported to have, at the time of former President Akufo-Addo’s efforts, derided the project as unnecessary, filthy comments derivable from the internet.
For him, former President Akufo-Addo had wasted time for two years seeking free money to spend from a reparation, describing the efforts as untitled entitlement.
He made reference to other former colonies who, he said, had moved on from ashes and swamps to something else.
Some remarks and even comments must simply be confined to the garbage bins. Concentrating on such nonsense as a leader would make leaders lose their focus and sense of innovation. It can only be imagined if former President Akufo-Addo had listened to such irresponsible insinuations and innuendos. A good leader that he was, he persisted on the trajectory of bringing the subject to the front burners of the international comity of nations.
Slavery, of course, was the most evil of human activities perpetrated by man against man.
The manner in which the trade was carried out and the dehumanisation of the slaves, who were regarded as cargo and sold as commodities, demands remorse from descendants of those who perpetrated it. It was this mentality which drove the former President and now his successor to carry on the fight to this heartwarming pedestal.
Demanding reparation is a right and, for us, should not be regarded as a favour but a deserving right.
Ghana, with an unparalleled number of slave castles than anywhere in Africa which presupposes that many of these black men and women were shipped to the Americas from our part of the world, it stands to reason that those championing the cause of recognition and reparation are from Ghana.