The timely call by Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama for reparations to Africa to compensate for colonisation and its associated injustices has provoked diverse reactions, bringing to the fore the urgent need for a unified front to drive that agenda.
The speech made by President Mahama at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on February 20, 2025, highlighted the enormous damage inflicted on Africa during the colonial period and also revived conversation on a decision had remained stagnant, buried in bureaucratic drawers for the past two years, until his re-election in December.
He cited historical estimates suggesting that the total economic loss to the continent due to the outflow of human and material resources amounted to trillions of dollars.
In 2023, a conference on reparations was held in Ghana's capital, where it was decided that reparations should not only include financial compensation but also measures for restitution, rehabilitation, and guarantees against the recurrence of similar abuses in the future. Pan-African movement It is instructive to note that almost all summit participants expressed similar positions on reparations, indicating the urgent need to establish a unified Pan-African movement that can effectively address economic development issues, including the reparations project, as well as political representation.
