His excellency, Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo, on Wednesday, conferred Ghanaian citizenship on some 126 diasporans. These 126 individuals are people who have lived in Ghana for so many years. This event forms a part of a series of activities commemorating the ‘Year of Return’, declared by the president.
Speaking at the event, the president expressed his joy at the fact that the said individuals had chosen Ghana as their home and have joined several generations of diasporans who committed their lives to Ghana.
He went on to say, people like Rita Marley, Bob Marley’s widow, Maya Angelou, George Padmore and W.E.B du Bois all found homes in Ghana, with the latter buried in the country.
The president went on to say; “You have the responsibility of preserving and promoting the image of a country whose reputation, amongst the comity of nations, is, today, high.”
“You are citizens of a country that is regarded as one of the most stable on the continent, a beacon of democracy, governed by the rule of law and respect for individual liberties, human rights and the principles of democratic accountability, as a result of the commendable acts and deeds of past and present generations of your fellow Ghanaians.”
Nana Addo also asked the new Ghanaian citizens to respect and abide by the laws of Ghana and live in accordance with the tenets of Ghana’s Constitution. He further encouraged them to engage fully in the realization of the vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid.
In concluding, the president paid tribute to the late Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey. Jake was a Minister for Tourism and Diasporan Relations under the Government of the 2nd President of the 4th Republic, and an outstanding statesman. He together with His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, championed the cause for the return of descendants of the slave trade to their homes of origin.
The president said, “He instituted the “Joseph Project”, whose aim was to reconcile and unite the African peoples, on the continent and in the Diaspora, and to release their energies to help build Africa and the Caribbean. This ceremony would be a happy moment for him.”
