PRESIDENT MAHAMA INVOKES NKRUMAH'S LEGACY, URGES AFRICA TO DEFINE ITS OWN PATH AT FAMILY SOVEREIGNTY CONFERENCE

President John Dramani Mahama has positioned Ghana’s independence history as a rallying point for Africa’s current debate on sovereignty and values, saying the continent must once again “believe in itself” and determine its own destiny.  

Chief of Staff Dr. Julius Debrah delivered the President’s message Tuesday at the opening of the 4th African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Sovereignty and Values in Accra.  

“It’s a privilege and honor to join you this morning on behalf of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, who extends his warm greetings and best wishes to all delegates gathered for this important conference,” Debrah began.  

He described Ghana as a place “where history still speaks with unusual clarity,” recalling how Kwame Nkrumah’s call for freedom echoed across Africa from Accra. “It was here that President Kwame Nkrumah challenged Africa to believe in itself. It was here that a newly independent nation demonstrated that Africans were capable of governing themselves and determining their own destiny,” Debrah said.  

According to the President’s address, that same spirit convenes lawmakers today. “We meet at a consequential moment for our continent,” Debrah read. “Across Africa, conversations about sovereignty, identity, governance, and development are taking on renewed agency.”  

At the heart of those conversations, he said, is a core question: “How do we preserve what is uniquely African while building the prosperous future our people deserve?”  

Debrah told delegates the gathering matters because Africa’s future will not be shaped by economies and infrastructure alone. “It will also be shaped by the values we choose to uphold, the institutions we strengthen, and the confidence with which we define our own path going forward,” he said.