President John Dramani Mahama delivered a compelling address at a diaspora summit in Accra on December 19, responding to former U.S. President Donald Trump‘s derogatory remarks about African nations.
Mahama’s speech condemned language referring to African countries as “shitholes” and Africans as “garbage” or “filth,” calling it a “racist dog whistle” that Africans cannot ignore or excuse.
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Framing the speech beyond mere rebuttal, Mahama emphasised the historical injustices inflicted on Africa and its diaspora, including slavery, colonialism, and apartheid.
He stressed that the continent’s divisions, imposed by colonial powers through artificial borders and manufactured ethnic hierarchies, must now be intentionally reversed.
“We must be more intentional about our unity than they were about our division,” Mahama declared, arguing that unity is essential to overcoming historical oppression.
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Mahama highlighted the enduring cultural connections linking Africa to its diaspora.
He cited shared languages, including Akan and Yoruba, traditional foods such as okro, cowpeas, and waakye, and musical and folklore traditions like Anansi tales, as evidence that African identity persists despite centuries of displacement.
Drawing on Pan-Africanist figures, he invoked the legacies of Kwame Nkrumah, Marcus Garvey, and the historic empires of Mali, Songhai, Ghana, and Mutapa to underscore Africa’s historical significance and resilience.
A key focus of the speech was reparative justice.
Mahama announced that Ghana would push for a United Nations General Assembly motion recognising the transatlantic slave trade as the greatest crime against humanity.
He outlined specific measures for redress, including debt cancellation, financial compensation, the return of stolen African artefacts, institutional reform, and systemic economic restitution.
He also referenced epigenetics to highlight the transgenerational impact of historical trauma on people of African descent, strengthening the moral imperative for reparations.
Concluding with a forward-looking message, Mahama urged Africans to harness fear as motivation rather than allow it to hold them back.
Reiterating a phrase he has used at the United Nations, he proclaimed, “The future is African,” emphasising that a united Africa and diaspora community can achieve transformative change.
This version presents the same content in a fluid narrative style, maintaining all critical details while emphasising context, historical perspective, and Mahama’s central calls for unity and justice.
