The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has taken a swipe at the Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, over the latter's criticism of the demand for reparations to African countries over slavery, which was part of the United Nations resolution championed by President John Dramani Mahama.

Afenyo-Markin contended that African countries do not deserve reparations because some Africans were complicit in the slave trade.

Reacting to this at a recent public event, the Foreign Minister asserted that the Minority Leader’s criticism was out of ignorance.

He said that his only advice for Afenyo-Markin would be that he should consult former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on the matter at hand.

“I will have only one message for the Minority Leader in Ghana. He should pay a friendly visit to the former President of Ghana, leader of his party, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who has been a strong advocate for reparatory justice and a leading member of his own party. You should pay him a visit.

“There's an Easter weekend coming up. It will be nice for him to pay former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo a visit. He should go with an Easter gift, sit with him and let former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo educate him on reparatory justice,” he said.

The minister added, “I think it would do him a lot of good before his next pronouncement in Parliament. That's all I have to tell him.”

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What Afenyo-Markin said:

The Minority Leader argued that the historical accounts of the transatlantic slave trade fail to reflect the role played by local actors.

Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin is the Minority Leader in Parliament Speaking on the Floor of Parliament on Friday, March 27, 2026, he said some indigenous people subjected their people to inhumane treatment.

"When somebody berths a vessel at Cape Coast, and you decide to go to the North, Bono area, get to the Ashanti area, to the Assin area and you are chasing your strongest among your own people, then after 100 years, you say I should be compensated. Who should compensate whom? We maltreated our own and told the white man that he should also maltreat our own. The story must be told and must be put in its proper context.

"It is also a fact that the inhumane treatment, the unfortunate humiliation, the marginalisation, injustice and abuse of our ancestors who became victims of this slave trade must be condemned," he said.



Watch a video of Ablakwa’s remarks below:



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