“It is disheartening to hear policy framed in terms of revenue generation without any recognition of the unique history, trauma, and significance that characterises the return of Africa’s Diaspora.”
Ghana’s Minister for the Interior, Hon. Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, recently made a public statement regarding the potential commercialisation of Ghanaian residency cards for foreigners, which has caused the Historically Unique Group (HUG) to express its concerns.
Expressing their concerns in a press statement, the HUG said “While we recognize the right of every sovereign nation to establish its own immigration policies, we believe this policy, as announced, lacks the necessary nuance and sensitivity required to acknowledge a group of people whose relationship with Ghana is not one of opportunism, but of origin, displacement, and return.”
“We are not ordinary migrants. We are descendants of enslaved Africans who were dispersed by force and returning by choice. Our movement back to Ghana is driven by historical injustice and generational healing, not economic migration. The idea that we should be lumped together under a foreign category and asked to pay for the right to return home is deeply painful and unacceptable,” the Group said.
Members emphasised that their families were taken from these shores generations ago, hence they return not as foreigners, but as sons and daughters of the soil, seeking reconnection, not relocation.
“It is disheartening to hear policy framed in terms of revenue generation without any recognition of the unique history, trauma, and significance that characterises the return of Africa’s Diaspora,” the statement said.
The HUG also made it apparent that the proposed policy runs the risk of eroding the goodwill that Ghana’s Year of Return and Beyond the Return initiatives had built up internationally, which were viewed as audacious declarations that Ghana was ready to take the lead in bringing the continent’s Diaspora back together.
The Group called on the Government of Ghana and the Ministry of the Interior to among others, distinguish between Returnees and Foreign Nationals in all matters relating to immigration, permits, and national policy; and engage in direct consultation with verified diaspora groups – especially those with lineage connected to the trans-Atlantic slave trade – before finalizing any policy that impacts our right to reside, work, or reintegrate in Ghana.
Read the Complete HUG Statement Below:
PRESS STATEMENT
Date: 17th April 2025
Issued by: The African Diaspora 126+ for Historically Unique Group (HUG)
A Response to the Interior Minister’s Announcement on Commercialized
Residency Permits
The Historically Unique Group (HUG) wishes to express concern over the recent public statement made by the Honourable Minister for the Interior, Hon. Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, regarding plans to commercialize residence permits for foreigners in Ghana.
While we recognize the right of every sovereign nation to establish its own immigration policies, we believe this policy, as announced, lacks the necessary nuance and sensitivity required to acknowledge a group of people whose relationship with Ghana is not one of opportunism, but of
origin, displacement, and return.
We are not ordinary migrants. We are descendants of enslaved Africans who were dispersed by force and returning by choice. Our movement back to Ghana is driven by historical injustice and generational healing, not economic migration. The idea that we should be lumped together under a foreign category and asked to pay for the right to return home is deeply painful and unacceptable.
What We Need is Recognition, Not Commodification
Our families were taken from these shores generations ago. We return not as foreigners, but as sons and daughters of the soil, seeking reconnection, not relocation. It is disheartening to hear policy framed in terms of revenue generation without any recognition of the unique history, trauma, and significance that characterizes the return of Africa’s Diaspora.
This policy proposal also risks undermining the international goodwill generated by Ghana’s Year of Return and Beyond the Return initiatives. These efforts were seen globally as bold affirmations that Ghana was prepared to lead the continent in reconciling with its Diaspora. What signal does this new proposal send?
Our Position
The Historically Unique Group calls on the Government of Ghana and the Ministry of the Interior to do the following:
- Distinguish Between Returnees and Foreign Nationals in all matters relating to immigration, permits, and national policy.
- Engage in Direct Consultation with verified diaspora groups – especially those with lineage connected to the trans-Atlantic slave trade – before finalizing any policy that impacts our right to reside, work, or reintegrate in Ghana.
- Develop a Clear and Accessible Path to Legal Residency and Citizenship that reflects the historic and spiritual relationship we hold with this land, without commodifying our identity.
- Ensure Transparency and Accountability in the residence permit process. Many returnees have faced irregular requirements, unpredictable fees, and shifting bureaucratic demands. A humane, standardized process is overdue.
We are not opposed to Ghana’s efforts to strengthen its institutions, generate revenue, or secure its borders. However, this must not come at the expense of those returning in good faith to rebuild what was stolen from us.
To be clear: we are not asking for handouts. We are asking for justice, recognition, and an honest commitment to the spirit of Pan-Africanism that Ghana has long claimed to champion.
This moment calls for vision not transactional policy. Ghana has the opportunity to lead with empathy, history, and integrity. Let us not reduce the sacred journey of return to a bureaucratic transaction.
Yaw Owusu Akyeaw
Chairman,
The African Diaspora 126+
Story: Lawal Mohammed
