NEW SYNERGY FOR BLACK WORLD PROGRESS
Black Americans urged to join African-Caribbean initiative
by Nicholas Okaijah-Thompson
Hope is on the horizon for a Black world renaissance. This is the expected outcome of an agreement reached by member-states of the African Union (AU) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at theirvirtual first summit. The agreement calls for boosting trade, investment and technology among them to
uplift their people from poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy
they inherited from slavery and colonialism. With the world now opening for in-person transactions, Barbados and Ghana are urging the two bodies to begin to implement the summit’s agreement.
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley made the calls during the recent Ghana 65th independence anniversary parade that was transmitted world-wide.
“The time of black people of the world is here,” declared the Ghanaian leader, who is credited for initiating the program “Year of Return “ to Africa in 2019 marking the 400th anniversary of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
To encourage more Black Americans to participate in the program, now dubbed “Beyond the Return,” the Ghana president is due in Charlotte, NC later this month to address the International Christian Leaders Summit at the invitation of Bishop T.D. Jakes. About 3,000 black Americans have already
been attracted to Ghana by the program that provides 500 acres of land to returnees to build houses, farms or businesses.
With the theme, “Working Together, Bouncing Back Together,” Ghana’s anniversary parade was held in Cape Coast, where the former slave castle with the “Door of No Return” is located. The Barbados leader indicated that her presence in the
historic Ghanaian city was a testimony that “we have returned to Africa, the motherland.”
She declared, “The resilience of Africans in the Diaspora has triumphed over decades and centuries of slavery, foreign rule and exploitation. It’s time we work together in solidarity to fight the battles of our times for shared prosperity and progress.”
Among those problems, she listed are COVID-19, vaccine nationalism, and the increasing high cost of living faced by emerging nations.
Making her second visit to Ghana, she applauded the country’s support for Barbados’s independence. “Ghana under first president Kwame Nkrumah was an inspiration to Barbados in our fight for independence. My country is turning back to Ghana for us to work together for the needs of our peoples,” she said.
Ghana has provided Barbados with a group of health workers to meet an increasing demand, and there are plans to recruit 200 more nurses from Ghana. Officials of the two countries have also been asked to work to establish direct travel routes
between Barbados and Ghana. Already, Barbados has opened her first African diplomatic mission in Accra, Ghana’s capital, followed by another in Nairobi, Kenya.
Also, in reaffirming his country’s continued interest in relations with Barbados, the Ghanaian leader stated, “Our relations with Barbados go back decades to the Atlantic Slave Trade and are indissoluble.” He hoped increased trade and cultural cooperation would lead to greater cooperation with Caribbean countries.
In addition to the “Beyond the Return” pro - gram,” black Americans are encouraged to join the African-Caribbean initiative. Black American capital, technology and market can play an effective role under the AU-CARICOM program for their mutual benefit. Black American leaders must therefore work
with the leaders of the two bodies to boost trade, investment and technology with other black people.
With the Black world’s immense resources, the Barbados leader stressed that they could make their people self-sufficient if they are utilized effectively. “Africa and the Caribbean command a vast market with enormous resources and strategic commodities that can be harnessed for the benefit of their people, instead of allowing foreign countries to exploit them for their gain,” she effort.
Pan-Africanists like Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. DuBois and Kwame Nkrumah must be applauded for their pioneering efforts in this direction. This new initiative, however, is a step further to reality because of the involvement of all African and Caribbean leaders. The leaders will be able to make use of their countries’ God-given resources and talents to build self-sufficient economies for their people. So, all African and
Caribbean countries must heed the calls by Ghana and
Barbados to begin the process of implementing their agreement. Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo is confident of divine support for this initiative. “The battle is the Lord’s,” he quoted from the Scriptures in ending his anniversary address amid thunderous cheers.
