WSYP Interview: The Process Must Match the Promise: Reparative Citizenship in Ghana

Tue, 12 May 2026 09:01:10 +0200

Sign and share the petition:https://www.change.org/ghanacitizenshipƆbenfo Ọbádélé Kambon joins WSYP Sankɔfa Radio to discuss the urgent petition for fair, transparent, accessible, and affordable reparative citizenship for the Historic Diaspora in Ghana.In this wide-ranging interview, Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé Kambon explains how the current citizenship petition grew out of years of organizing, beginning with the 2016 citizenship process that helped 34 Historic Diasporans receive Ghanaian citizenship under President John Dramani Mahama. He recounts how the original process emerged from meetings at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, and how there was no GHS 25,000 citizenship fee, no DNA requirement, and no sudden 48-hour compliance window at that time.The interview breaks down the major concerns raised in the petition, including:The prohibitive GHS 25,000 citizenship application feeThe need to permanently remove DNA as an exclusionary barrierUnclear and rushed application timelinesThe absence of constituency-mandated Historic Diaspora representationThe contradiction between calling the Historic Diaspora Ghana’s “17th Region” while treating reparative citizenship like ordinary immigrationThe need for Ghana to live up to its own Diaspora Engagement Policy and Pan-Afrikan commitmentsƆbenfo Ọbádélé Kambon also explains why this is not anti-Ghana. It is a call for Ghana to live up to the best of what it has already declared. The discussion emphasizes that a huge swath of petition signatories are Ghanaians born and raised in Ghana, showing that this is not a conflict between Ghanaians and the Historic Diaspora. It is Pan-Afrikan solidarity in practice.This conversation also connects the petition to the Decade of Our Repatriation, the Sankɔfa Journey, Abibitumi’s 20th anniversary, and the broader need to keep the door open for Black people seeking repair, repatriation, and restored relationship with Ghana and Abibiman.Sign and share the petition:https://www.change.org/ghanacitizenshipLearn more about Decade of Our Repatriation:https://decadeofourrepatriation.comJoin The Black Agenda GH on Black platforms, beyond the algorithm & blues:Abibitumi Public Group:https://www.abibitumi.com/grou....ps/the-black-agenda- The Black Agenda GH:https://youtube.com/@Blackagen....daghhttps://www.inst @blackagendaghRecorded and transcribed by Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé Kambon.The process must match the promise.#reparativecitizenship #ghanacitizenship #historicdiaspora #theblackagenda #decadeofourrepatriation #wsypsankofaradio #SankɔfaRadio #ghana #panafrikan #rightofreturn #abibifahodie #abibitumi