Introduction
It has been six months since the UN General Assembly adopted a Ghana-backed resolution to recognise the transatlantic slave trade as the ‘gravest crime against humanity.’ Already, it appears the tide is turning for Ghana’s proposed reparations cadre. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has issued a general recommendation establishing that countries that are parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) have a legal obligation to provide reparatory justice for the trafficking of enslaved Africans and radicalised chattel slavery on the basis that these historical injustices continue to produce contemporary racial discrimination.

For obvious reasons, a heated debate ignited as to whether Africa truly deserves reparations. In summary, proponents were of the view that Africa still suffers the damaging effects of slave trade and colonisation and should be compensated. Detractors argued that Africans traded their own people, that the trade was legal at the time and that African leaders are too corrupt to handle financial reparations.

For generations who were taught the positive effects of colonisation in schools, it is fascinating to hear these differing opinions. I am not writing to decide who is right in this endless debate. We can get all the reparations we want: an apology, monetary compensation, return of stolen artefacts; but what can we properly make of these when our education system still churns out archives of information instead of innovators and citizens who do not have an appreciation of their history? Some questions are not to be left for the gods to answer. In this op-ed, I will attempt to address this.

Decolonisation of our Education System as a form of Reparation

What does the resolution mean for the Ghanaian Education System? I would say decolonisation. It is no news that calls for decolonisation have been made for ages. This time, things are different because now it has moved from being a moral aspiration to acquiring the cogency of a legal obligation. Both proponents and detractors of the incessant debate have provided good starting points.

The revolution needs to begin with our curriculum. Let’s teach our current and future generations the truth of our history: that our ancestors in the pre-colonial era were not primitive just because Europe’s industrialisation had not reached their shores, but developed their own social, wealth, trade, education, industrial and governance systems. Let’s teach them about how Christianity was used as a tool to psychologically enslave and subdue our ancestors, how the Arabs enslaved Africans, or how the social systems of our ancestors already practised slavery. Let’s teach them about our ancestors who fought wars against colonial rule, about the feisty spirits of young freedom fighters and their assassinations, about the era of CIA-backed coups d’état that disrupted our freedoms, about the evolution of human rights in this country, or how corruption has inherently destroyed our development since 1957. Let’s teach them about the history of our political parties, or about how Africa has been systemically erased from global leadership, making us rule-takers instead of rule-makers. Let’s teach them about African/Ghanaian writers, philosophers and inventors. After all of this, let’s ensure that students are given room to express themselves freely without penalties, whether through writing, speaking or inventions. Let’s teach them to appreciate our culture and traditions; what makes them Ghanaians. Let’s teach them about their rights and repercussions, responsibilities, the power of protest and public interest lawsuits. Let’s teach them to develop critical thinking abilities by moving from memorisation methods of teaching and learning to problem-solving and analytical approaches, allowing them to ask ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’.

Dissenting Stance on Africa’s Reparation Goals

Politics does not require the opposition to agree with the incumbent government at all times. However, it was deeply unsettling when the minority leader in Parliament for the NPP expressed the collective view of the party to outrightly challenge reparations solely based on the fact that local actors played a role in the selling of their fellow Africans. Hon. Afenyo-Markin is not entirely wrong. But for a party that has defended human rights and social justice over the years, the argument, ‘who should compensate whom?’, is a tu quoque logical fallacy unworthy of a party that seeks to uphold national interest. Similarly, countries with a history of colonisation have expressed dissatisfaction with the resolution in its entirety, sharing either the same opinion or the notion that the current generations should not pay for the crimes of the past.

Conclusion
Perhaps I would end here with a quote by Denzel Washington from the movie, The Great Debaters: “…Your opponent is merely a dissenting voice to the truth you speak…” As the government champions this plausible cause, I urge our leaders to speak the truth, not only on international platforms but to translate that truth into our education system to give grace to the current and future generations to correct the wrongs. The West is merely a dissenting voice.

Written by Emmanuella Kwatia
Socio-legal Writer
[email protected]