Africa’s call for reparation: Right, but we must also strengthen ourselves

At the African Union's 7th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Malabo, Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, also serving as the AU Champion for Reparations, made a powerful declaration: Africa’s call for justice is no longer a whisper—it is now a united demand rooted in truth, dignity and the need to correct historical wrongs.

Speaking on the AU’s 2025 theme: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations”, President Mahama shared that significant progress has been made, including the AU’s decision to extend the reparations campaign for another ten years—from 2026 to 2036.

He also stressed that reparations are not just about money—they are about restoring Africa’s identity, healing deep civilisational wounds and reclaiming our rightful place in the world.

Ghana and Togo, he announced, would co-host a major event at the UN General Assembly in September 2025 to further push this agenda forward.

Call

This call is timely and necessary. Africa has suffered centuries of plunder, slavery and colonisation.

African leaders after the launch of  the African Union theme for 2025 by President John Dramani Mahama at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa

The wealth of the West was built on African backs and that injustice must be acknowledged and corrected. Reparations are not a favour—they are a moral debt long overdue.

But even as we demand justice from former colonial powers, we must also be honest with ourselves. Reparations alone will not fix Africa. We must fix ourselves, too.

For too long, African leaders have turned to the West for loans and aid, tying us into new forms of dependency.

Instead of looking outward, we need to develop our own systems—investing in education, technology, skills and innovation. Leaders must put the interests of their people first, not foreign approval or personal gain.

Many of these ideas are not new. Past leaders and freedom fighters have said that.

Some are already being implemented—like the ECOWAS passport and regional free movement.

These are signs of progress, but they must be strengthened, not abandoned. Unity must go beyond speeches.

It must be lived through policies, economic ties and a shared African vision.

Minds

We must also free our minds. One of the worst things colonialism did was to make Africans believe their culture and beliefs were inferior.

That kind of thinking still lingers. True reparations must include a public apology for this cultural destruction and a global recognition of Africa’s contributions to the world. Western and African systems can coexist—one is not superior to the other.

Still, as we applaud President Mahama’s leadership, we must also ask: Is he doing the same within Ghana?

For example, has the historical injustice around Western Togoland been addressed?

That land was joined to Ghana under British rule without full consent.

We cannot demand justice outside and ignore it at home.

Africa’s fight for reparations is right and long overdue.

But if we do not match that fight with unity, good leadership and belief in ourselves, we will remain stuck.

The world owes us justice—but we owe ourselves action.

Let Africa rise—not just to demand justice for the past, but to take control of its future.