There’s a home for you in Ghana, come whenever you're ready – Mahama to diasporans in Canada

Former President, John Dramani Mahama on Thursday, October 19, delivered a keynote speech at the Universities Studying Slavery (USS) Conference 2023 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

In his address, the leader of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) urged the Ghanaians abroad to return home.

He assured them that they will always be well-welcomed whenever they are ready to return home.

“The work of atonement done by somebody else for the injustices of the past should not be confused with the work of healing that must be done by us for the wellbeing and joy of our posterity.

“We are the answer to our ancestor’s prayers. They survived the unspeakable so that we would be free to soar beyond the limits that society, family, friends, and even our own fears try to place on us.

“And, finally, There is a home for you in Ghana, and we will happily welcome you back as one of our own through the Door of Return whenever you are ready.

“My brother, the High Commissioner of Ghana to Canada, Ambassador Rashford Sowah, is here with me, and his office will gladly help facilitate your return home,” John Dramani Mahama said to conclude his address.

In his address, the former President said the damages done by the institutions of slavery and colonialism still echo through the daily lives of most Black people across the globe.

He said in Africa, it can be seen in the infrastructural deficits, the need for more schools, hospitals, affordable housing, and better roads.

“From the continent and throughout the Diaspora, the resounding damages of slavery and colonisation are most painfully evident in the displacement of our people. We are always migrating North or south or emigrating to Europe or North America; we are either being forcibly removed from our homes or moving voluntarily with nothing more than the hope of a better life elsewhere, even though we still love our homeland and wish to stay,” Mahama bemoaned.