Accra-Ghana, Dec.16, GNA – The National Cathedral Executive Director, Paul Opoku-Mensah, has declared the post-‘Year of Return’ as a period for Africans in the diaspora and the continent to forge beneficial relationships.
He has therefore urged Africans at home and abroad to come together, to lead a global movement to transform the continent and ensure the well-being of Africans everywhere.
Dr Opoku-Mensah shared these thoughts during his keynote address at the International Convention of Africans in the Diaspora Conference (ICAD) in Accra.
“I believed we are in such a moment when the sons and daughters of Africa at home and in the diaspora must come together in a push to build a global African movement for the transformation of the mother continent and Africans everywhere on the globe.”
He stressed that the 21st-century Pan African movement should push history towards the economic, social, and spiritual liberation of the African people.
The best way to connect Africa and the diaspora is not through formal politics or the African Union but through civil society, like the International Clergy Association and ICAD initiatives.
He explained that to fully grasp the African diaspora’s history, it is essential to recognise how the Bible, initially used to dehumanize Africans in slavery, later became a tool for building communities and established institutions like the black church.
This, he noted, played a crucial role in producing key leaders who fought against slavery.
Bishop Charles Abban, convenor for ICAD, highlighted the need for everyone to play a part in bringing Africans in the diaspora back to reclaim their identity.
Despite the historical ‘point of no return,’ Africans in the diaspora are retracing their steps back home, he noted.
“Everybody has a part to play, these are our brothers on the other side of the continent, it is spiritual but today God is leading us for them to come to their motherland. The slavers said point of no return, they changed names but today we are seeing our brothers and sisters back to Ghana…”
Dr. Maulana Maulana, CEO of the Ministry of the Future, urged Africans in the diaspora to team up with local Ghanaian businesses for strategic economic partnerships to promote development.
The Conference brought together Africans and African-Americans for a common goal of developing their motherland- Africa and consider Africa as their home.
Awards were given to individuals who distinguished themselves in facilitating the safe return and settlement of Africans in the diaspora.
The event was organised by the International Clergy Association Incorporated and NACAG travel and Tours.
