Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has urged citizens at home and abroad to strengthen national unity, warning that division remains one of the most effective tools used to weaken African societies.
Speaking at the Diaspora Summit 2025 in Accra on Friday, President Mahama said Ghana’s national narrative cannot be complete without fully embracing the experiences and contributions of its diaspora. The event was held under the theme “Resetting Ghana: The Diaspora as the 17th Region.”
“The reason I believe it is important that we consciously carry the story of the diaspora as part and parcel of Ghana’s story is because what divides us ultimately denies us the ability to be home,” Mahama said. “That division is precisely why it becomes the perfect way to conquer.”
Mahama criticized colonial-era boundaries that split ethnic and cultural communities across borders, subjecting them to different administrations. He argued that these artificial divisions, compounded by coups, armed conflicts and externally driven development programs, have fragmented African societies.
“How can I deny the fact that we are undeniably and inextricably part of each other, and yet we have been divided with artificial doors of colonialism that split ethnic homelands right down the middle?” he asked.
The President also called on participants to challenge and overturn systems and narratives that once oppressed African people. “Let’s take the narrative of those who oppressed us and work it. In fact, let’s take their entire modus operandi and flip it and reverse it,” he said.
Mahama closed with a strong appeal for deliberate unity, stressing that overcoming historical divisions requires conscious effort and shared purpose. “So I urge you, my brothers and sisters, let’s be more intentional about our unity than they were about our division,” he said.
