—Matt Gwinta, B1Daily

Ghana has positioned itself as a moral authority in the fight for reparations, but history tells a different story. Ghanaian kingdoms like the Ashanti and Fante were active participants in the transatlantic slave trade, profiting from the capture and sale of Africans to European traders.

This wasn’t passive complicity, it was a thriving business. For Ghana to now demand reparations while ignoring its own culpability reeks of historical revisionism and selective outrage.

The argument that European coercion absolves Ghanaian elites of responsibility is weak. While Europeans undeniably orchestrated the trade, local rulers facilitated it with gusto, leveraging their power to enrich themselves. The Ashanti Empire, for example, waged wars specifically to supply slaves, a fact well-documented in historical records.

If reparations are about accountability, Ghana’s elites owe just as much to the descendants of the enslaved as any European power. Yet, you won’t hear them offering apologies—only demands for Western cash.

Ghanaian kingdoms like the Ashanti and Fante were active participants in the transatlantic slave trade.

Worse still, Ghana’s modern embrace of Pan-Africanism feels performative. The country markets itself as a pilgrimage site for Black diaspora returnees, charging them premium prices for emotional “homecomings” while doing little to address systemic inequality within its own borders.

How can a nation demand reparations when it fails to uplift its own citizens? The hypocrisy is staggering. If Ghana truly cared about justice, it would first reconcile with its own brutal legacy instead of outsourcing blame.

Reparations should go to the descendants of the enslaved—not to governments that helped enslave them. Ghana’s request for reparations is akin to a thief demanding compensation after selling stolen goods.

The focus must remain on direct victims, not opportunistic states seeking to capitalize on tragedy. Let Ghana confront its past with transparency, pay its own debts, and then maybe, just maybe, it can join the conversation without looking like a fraud.

The truth hurts, but it’s necessary: Ghana doesn’t deserve a seat at the reparations table. Not when its hands are still dirty.

—Matt Gwinta, B1Daily