A right of return for the African diaspora should be established across the continent, President John Dramani Mahama has said, arguing that clearer residency and citizenship routes would reconnect Africa with its global family.
Mahama renewed the proposal during his official visit to Jamaica. “All African nations must have a right of return,” he said.
The President disclosed that Ghana is considering a legislative framework for people of African descent who want to settle, gain residency or pursue citizenship. No draft bill, eligibility rules or implementation date were announced.
Ghana is not beginning from zero. The country already operates a Right of Abode under the Immigration Act, 2000, allowing eligible people of African descent in the diaspora to live permanently, enter without a visa and work without a permit.
That status is different from Ghanaian citizenship. Mahama’s proposed framework appears intended to make the routes clearer and potentially broaden how Ghana welcomes members of the diaspora.
AU platform could widen proposal
He wants the issue pushed beyond Ghana. Mahama said it would form part of his continental agenda if he assumes the rotating chairmanship of the African Union.
Ghana serves as the Union’s First Vice Chairperson, while Mahama has been endorsed as West Africa’s sole candidate for the chairmanship when it returns to the region in 2027.
The proposal sits within a wider Pan African argument. Mahama believes people of African descent should have practical opportunities to return, invest, work and participate in the continent’s development rather than relate to Africa through history and symbolism.
Youth must drive reconnection
Young people, he said, must drive that connection. The President described African and Caribbean youth as the generation that will shape the next chapter of their shared story. Unlike earlier generations, they have wider access to knowledge, technology and international networks.
He urged them to build enterprises, solve community problems and “innovate with purpose,” while treating leadership as service rather than status.
Mahama also placed responsibility on governments. Leaders, he said, must create societies supported by quality education, equal opportunity, democratic governance, innovation and shared prosperity.
The language is ambitious. Turning it into policy will require Parliament to define who qualifies, how applications will be assessed and whether residency can lead to citizenship.
For the diaspora, that detail will matter more than ceremony. A continental right of return could deepen cultural and economic ties, but its credibility will rest on clear laws, workable institutions and consistent treatment at the border.
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