President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has received the first ever International Nation Builders Award from the National Black Caucus of State Legislators in the United States Congress.
Presenting the award to President Akufo-Addo, the president of the Black Caucus of State Legislators, Congressman Billy Mitchell, said the Nation Builders Award was established “to recognise those African-Americans who have distinguished themselves to live-long service and dedication to enfranchisement and inclusion of Americans of African descent into the national body of politics.”
Congressman Mitchell said the nation builders award ceremony was renamed in 1995 to honour the late David P. Richardson, a twenty-three-year member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and NBCSL’s third President.
“I must say as the President of NBCSL, it is my belief, that we must unite and partner with our brothers and sisters of the continent and throughout the diaspora. It is not lost on me that Ghana is widely regarded as the hub of pan-Africanism and the final resting place of many of our great thinkers, yes, even W.E.B. Du Bois,” he said.
Congressman Mitchell, who described himself as “a student of Dr Kwame Nkrumah”, said, “we are stronger together and when we unite and advance the causes of our people, internationally, we are all better.”
“It is, for this reason, I present to you this award Mr President, for your commitment to working collaboratively to achieve the liberation of African people despite where we were born. Mr President, I present to you, the first International Nation Builders Award of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators,” he added.
On his part, President Akufo-Addo said that Ghana’s connection with the African Diaspora pre-dates her independence.
He said the government was working to create platforms for the adoption of legal frameworks in key sectors to drive diaspora engagements.
That, President Akufo-Addo indicated, had culminated in the Homeland Return Bill.
The Homeland Return Bill, the President explained, recognises Ghana’s moral and spiritual obligation, as an African nation, to facilitate the return of diaspora Africans to Ghana and the motherland, and to initiate the legal and regulatory processes for integrating them into Ghanaian society.
“When enacted, the Law will provide the much needed regulatory and practical changes to improve the requirements for the acquisition of Ghanaian citizenship and permanent residence by diasporan Africans. Indeed, in the Year of Return, I granted citizenship to 126 members of the diasporan community in Ghana,” the President stressed.
That, he said, would be a critical indicator for business and investment, presenting an avenue for Africans in the diaspora to work towards partnerships, and establish Ghana as a launchpad to the rest of the continent.
The President told the Black Caucus of Legislators that Ghanaians and Africans as a whole have a keen interest in Diasporas fare. “If you flourish, it will reflect well on us in Africa. Your success will boost our confidence. If we do well, and the continent flourishes, you will have an easier time of it here.”
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
