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Reparation for the Slave Trade?
Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, is reported to have asked those nations that benefitted from the obnoxious Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade to pay reparation to the victims.
Nana Addo said this when he took his turn to address the 78th session of the General Assembly in New York recently.
“No amount of money will ever make up for the horrors, but it would make the point that evil was perpetrated, that millions of productive Africans were snatched from the embrace of our continent, and put to work in the Americas and the Caribbean without compensation for their labour,” Nana Addo is quoted as saying.
Avid students of history know that America and some of its European partners advanced and developed on the back of slave labour. We know that in that time human beings, our forebears, became nothing more than commodities in auction markets.
These were Africans in their prime; weavers, fishers, farmers, craftsmen etc. The slave dealers looked out for able-bodied young men and women who could serve as good plantation labourers and studs and wenches to sire their own replacements as they aged in those faraway lands.
As I have written many times, the Church and the Crown took commissions on every slave that was delivered to the Americas. Their complicity in the despicable act cannot be pushed under the carpet. They knew that the black race was the progenitor of all races on earth, yet allowed them to be treated like garbage. It is unconscionable.
At a symposium that I was invited to in New York about a decade ago, the young African-Americans in the auditorium were palpably angry with those of us in Africa. Their reason was that they were sold into slavery by our chiefs and elders and so harboured a disdain for the remainder of us here. Apparently, they were fed this false narrative by their slave masters.
When it was my turn, I agreed that fratricidal and feudal wars among us at that time very likely made it possible to sell off war captives; and our chiefs were the commanders-in-chief of their armies.
I was also quick to say that more than sixty percent of them were abducted by Europeans who can be described as slave raiders. I made them aware that it was more profitable for these raiders or abductors to waylay the people than pay for them.
“You have fifty percent of our story because once you were taken away we did not know anything anymore; and we have the other fifty. Unless we bring these together, others will be in control of the narrative, so holding us in contempt does not help our cause as victims of this organized crime,” I concluded.
During question time, I pointed out that both Africans at home and in the Diaspora should be grateful to Alex Haley whose epic book, Roots, threw the light on our understanding of what might have happened after our forebears left our shores. The story of Gambian, Kunta Kinte, tells our ordeal more succinctly. The Gambia river is called Kambi by the locals.
But whichever way the narrative is, slavery by all standards is a crime against humanity. Up till today, blacks are discriminated against in almost all Caucasian societies. Argentina made it a state policy to not have Argentines of African descent. All blacks in that country after the slave trade was abolished were either exterminated or ‘exported’ from that country.
The call, therefore, for reparation is a good one. Before Akuffo Addo, many African leaders had made a strong case for reparation. To remind the world, Nana Addo stated that money cannot assuage the pain of a continent whose labour enriched the West.Our leaders must be relentless in asking for this reparation.
But first, how will this reparation be quantified? Which countries were most affected by the slave trade? At least, we know which forts and castles served as holding centres for slaves awaiting shipments. My understanding is that the slave ships had detailed manifests of their human cargoes, so getting a near accurate percentage may not be too difficult.
Secondly, what form will this reparation be? Are we asking for money, equitable economic opportunities as in the West or both? Sadly, our African Union cannot agree and speak with one voice, so how do we get started? Already, African leaders are taking different sides in the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza conflicts. A typical African example.
Thirdly, who will manage whatever reparations that may be agreed upon is another matter altogether. If it is established that certain countries lost more persons to slavery, will the reparations come to the countries on a pro rata basis? The more slaves taken from you, the more your quantum of reparation.
The complexity of all this is that Africans were illiterate at the time of slavery and have no records of the families that lost their relatives to the human trade. So, do the respective countries become the beneficiary recipients of reparation on behalf of the people? This might be the plausible way out; and that is where I cringe.
I cringe at that possibility because Africans know too well that their present crop of leaders cannot be trusted to use proceeds from reparation to the benefit of the mass of their people; not by a long shot.
My personal recommendation is for the United Nations (UN) to put together a Trustee of Experts to, first, look at the priority needs of the beneficiary countries and, second, to administer the disbursement accordingly. The moment our politicians get their hands into the pie, zilch will be done for the people.
Then we want to think about our compatriots in the Americas and Caribbean. In the United States they are referred to as African-Americans. When I was a student in the sixties they were Afro-Americans. As direct descendants of slaves, will these blacks also be considered in the reparation package? Admittedly, many African-Americans have done well for themselves, some excelling in their various fields of endeavour.
But the majority of them in the U.S. are under the radar of achievement, resorting to crimes of all shades, drug addiction, prostitution and many more vices. How do they benefit from the back-breaking toil of their ancestors? To exclude them will make them angrier than they ever have been.
What the country of Haiti has been reduced to currently is a case in point. Social order has been turned on its head by gangs in murderous abandon. This is the time to press the reparation button harder so that justice is seen to have been served. Whatever the case may be, our forebears must not suffer and die in vain.
Writer’s email address: akofa45@yahoo.com
By Dr. Akofa K Segbefia
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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