Article: Kojo Yankah’s seven missing links in 'Year of Return' campaign

Congratulations to the government and the Year of Return (YOR) team for creating a buzz that has made all kinds of impact.

Some missing links though:

1. Year of Return is not just about the slave trade; the return started long ago from Ghana’s independence when WEB Du Bois, George Padmore, Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Muhamed Ali, Maya Angelou and many others flew in and out of Ghana.

2. Year of Return should have remembered Kwame Nkrumah, WEB Du Bois and others including JB Danquah and Ako Adjei who in 1945 at the Manchester Conference instigated black unity.

3. Year of Return should have linked to historically black colleges and universities that produced Kwegyir Aggrey, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kwame Nkrumah and others whose association with blacks impacted on independence in Africa.

4. Year of Return should know about Marcus Mosiah Garvey who moved enslaved Africans from America to Liberia & Sierra Leone.

5. Year of Return should have narrated the story of African slave descendants from New York and Jamaica who were reburied at Assin Manso.

6. Year of Return should have aligned with AU Agenda 2063 and the recognition of the African Diaspora as the 6th region of the continent.

7. The first 20 slaves taken out of Africa came from Angola.

There is a danger with government and partisan initiatives which die with their initiators when they are not on the scene.

Year of Return and beyond should be anchored on a national and Pan-African historical narrative and tested institutions that will stand the test of time.