UNGA 2025: For Africa, Reparations Must Start with Housing

When African leaders renewed their collective call for apologies and restitution at the 2025 United Nations General Assembly, it reignited a conversation that goes far beyond financial justice. For millions of Africans in the diaspora, reparations are not just about what the world owes Africa — but about where Africa is prepared to receive them.

Reparations, in their truest sense, are not only about compensation for past wrongs; they are about restoration — the rebuilding of what was lost, including the right to return, to belong, and to rebuild roots. Every call for reparations is also a call for reconnection. It asks: if the world admits it’s wrong, can Africa now open its arms?

Opening those arms cannot end at symbolism. It must be supported by systems that make homecoming possible in practice; laws, infrastructure, and industries capable of turning emotional return into physical reintegration. And no sector reflects that readiness more concretely than real estate.

Reparations Require Roofs
In every society, land and housing are more than assets — they are the foundation of citizenship and belonging. The ability to own or build a home is often the first real sign of restoration for displaced people.

As Africa amplifies its calls for reparations, the continent must also confront a deeper question: how can we translate this historical justice movement into systems that allow our people abroad to finally come home — not as tourists, but as residents, investors, and citizens? The truth is simple: homecoming cannot happen without housing.

The Real Estate Imperative
The real estate sector is not just an economic driver — it is the backbone of national belonging. It is where justice becomes tangible.

When a diasporan decides to return — whether from Atlanta, London, or Kingston — their first concern is not politics; it’s property. Where will they live? Can they buy? Can they rent? Can they build without being exploited by unscrupulous agents or trapped in bureaucracy?

Right now, too few African countries can answer those questions confidently. We must change that. One of the most practical solutions is to make property ownership and investment seamless and affordable for the diaspora, starting before they even arrive. Africans abroad should be able to browse, reserve, and make installment deposits for verified properties online through trusted, state-certified platforms; just as easily as they can buy homes in London or Toronto.

The system should allow secured digital payments for verified projects linked to registered developers; offer mortgage-class installment plans so diasporans can make progressive deposits from abroad; provide government-backed guarantees to prevent fraud and ensure transparency; regularize the roles of middlemen and agents who have preyed on the diaspora’s trust for years; and integrate with national ID and land registries so that property documents are verifiable online.

This is not futuristic. It is functional. Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa already have elements of these systems What is missing is a continental vision — one that makes it as easy for an African-American nurse in Chicago or a British-Ghanaian engineer in Manchester to buy verified land in Lagos, Accra, or Kigali as it is to purchase real estate online in their host countries.

When we make property accessible, transparent, and affordable, we remove the fear that has kept millions of Africans abroad from investing at home.

From Year of Return to Decade of Settlement

Ghana’s “Year of Return” in 2019 reminded the world that Africa’s greatest export: its people are willing to come back home. But emotional homecoming is only the beginning. Africa now needs a Decade of Settlement; one focused on building satellite town, housing programs, and economic frameworks that can absorb the energy, skills, and capital of millions of returnees.

Building Diaspora-Friendly Real Estate Policies

To make this possible, as President of the Real Estate Stakeholders Support Initiative, I lend my voice for the convening of all stakeholders where governments should collaborate with the real estate industry, banks, and diaspora organizations to design Africa’s Diaspora Real Estate Inclusion Policies.

These policies must first focus on institutional and digital infrastructure. They should establish national property desks for diasporans in embassies and consulates to serve as one-stop centers for inquiries and property investments; they must also digitize all land registries for online verification and transaction tracking, and introduce special residence permits linked to property ownership.

Furthermore, the policies should tackle financial and regulatory challenges. This involves incentivizing banks and developers to create Diaspora Housing Schemes with flexible payment structures; expanding mortgage financing in partnership with African development banks and diaspora funds; and standardizing building codes and land titling processes to eliminate confusion and corruption.

When this is done, the continent won’t just be inviting people back, it will be building homes ready to receive them, while boosting the local economy.

A Continent Ready for Business.
Beyond its social and moral dimensions, the case for diaspora-oriented housing reform is also deeply economic. Real estate is one of the fastest ways to channel diaspora remittances — currently valued at over $100 billion annually across Africa, into productive domestic investment.

Today, most of that money flows informally: into family support, personal projects, or unregulated construction ventures often lost to fraud or inefficiency. With proper real-estate infrastructure and verified digital platforms, these funds could become a sustainable capital source for housing, infrastructure, and urban development.

If even 20 percent of diaspora remittances were redirected into structured property investments, the continent could unlock over $20 billion each year in new housing finance — nearly rivaling the combined output of foreign direct investment in several countries.

Moreover, an inclusive housing policy for diasporans would stimulate demand across multiple sectors, including Construction and materials, thereby creating jobs from bricklayers to architects; Financial services, through mortgages, insurance, and escrow systems; Technology, via prop-tech innovation and cross-border digital transactions; and Tourism and hospitality, as returning diasporans spend locally during resettlement. In short, every diaspora home purchased is not just a family’s homecoming—it’s a national investment multiplier.

By formalizing this process, African governments can transform the diaspora from a sentimental constituency into a structured economic bloc — one that builds cities, not just memories.

Conclusion
African nations can no longer afford to treat the return of their diaspora as a ceremonial event. It is a strategic opportunity for economic growth, innovation, and global influence.

Every African home sold to a returning diasporan is not just a property transaction — it is a small act of justice. It is wealth returning home. It is a memory finding land again.

We do not need another decade of apologies. We need policies; digital, transparent, and inclusive that give our global sons and daughters the confidence to come back, build, and belong. Because the future of reparations is not written in speeches.

It is built - brick by brick, home by home, across the soil of a continent finally ready to receive its own.

Jennifer Odii is an entrepreneur, restaurateur, and CEO of Odinga J Properties. As President of the Real Estate Stakeholders Support Initiative (RESSI), she drives high-level policy engagement across Africa’s housing sector, championing transparency, diaspora inclusion, and sustainable growth.

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