President of the Republic of Ghana has said Africans must not allow themselves to go back to the era of slavery where people were forced to do things without their own will.
The President explained during the commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of the commencement of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, that it was “one of the most unfortunate and barbaric episodes of human history”, He stressed that nearly 12.5 million Africans, from Central and West Africa, were sold into slavery.
The ability of the people to move were very limited and were forced to rebuild other nations through hard labour at where ever their slave masters transported them.
According to the President: “As though this was not enough, the continent had to endure centuries of being colonized by the same people who undertook the slave trade. The identity and personality of the African were assaulted, and the imprints of imperialism and colonialism woven deeply into the fabric of our lives,”
Africa remembered the 400 anniversary of the first West African slaves who touched down in the Commonwealth of Virginia, which is now known as United State of America, the president added: “we have a sacred duty and an onerous responsibility to help restore the dignity and pride of the African.”
He maintained: “We are a continent of some 1.3 billion people, more than either the populations of Europe or the Americas; we are an enterprising, hardworking and innovative people, and we must make it count.”
The President said this at an event hosted by the President of the Republic of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyata, alongside the ongoing of the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The President of Ghana is using the year of 2019, known as the, ‘ year of return’ to remind people of African origin and all great speakers on the continent to make sure that this act of slavery will not happened again in Africa.
We will remember that Ghana started the year of return in October 2018, and it was rollout in Washington D.C together with December 2018 Full Circle Festival which included more than 70 African American celebrities who came to Ghana to reunite with their African heritage.
The President said they were able to see Ghana and surely Africa from their own mindsets and could “Eat, Feel, See and Wear Ghana”.
The one –year long commemoration, will involve events like The Back-2-Africa Festival, the Home Coming and Investment Summit, the African-American Investment Forum, and the Pan-African and Emancipation Day Celebrations.
In the President’s view, the commemoration, “should enable us, in the African Union, to consolidate and strengthen our links with our Sixth Region, i.e. the African Diaspora of the so-called ‘New World’, which have laid dormant, and make operational and extend the Free Movement Protocol to those in the Diaspora seeking to resettle in Africa.”
Hoping to meet people from the Diaspora and Africa in Ghana, he mentioned that this is the time to deliberate with each other progressively and instill in us the state of awareness and appreciate the history of Africans.
The President continued :“We, in Ghana, will ensure that the focus of activities commemorating the arrival of the first African slaves in Virginia showcases the achievements, creativity, ingenuity and resilience of the African peoples through the ages.’
President Akufo Addo in addition said that Africans, “must be proud of our rich heritage, a heritage which encompasses the ancient Kingdoms of Benin, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kongo, Mali, Mutapa, Songhai and Zimbabwe, and the world-renowned centres of learning of the University of Al Azhar in the 10th century, and the University of Sankore in Timbuktu in the 13th century. I am proud to be an African.”
