Abuja: Sen. Ned Nwoko (APC-Delta) has stated that a formal apology is necessary before any form of restitution can be made for historical injustices related to slavery and colonial exploitation. Nwoko, who chairs the Senate Committee on Reparations and Repatriation, emphasized this point during a session in Abuja, urging nations involved in the transatlantic slave trade and colonial exploitation to issue formal apologies as a moral prerequisite to structured reparations.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Nwoko stressed the importance of acknowledging wrongdoing as the foundation for building restitution. He argued that this approach is both politically strategic and ethically sound, clarifying that reparations should be viewed not as acts of generosity but as obligations of justice. The recent adoption of The New York Declaration on Reparation and Repatriation at a United Nations summit on Oct. 14 was highlighted as a significant milestone in this effort.
Nwoko pointed out that the declaration was meticulously crafted and negotiated, representing a consensus among heads of states, parliamentarians, legal experts, and representatives from the United Nations, the African Union, and CARICOM. It asserts that reparations and repatriation are essential instruments for achieving global justice, reconciliation, and a renewed African renaissance, rather than mere symbolic gestures.
The declaration demands unreserved apologies from colonial powers, the repatriation of Africa’s stolen artifacts, and the establishment of dedicated international institutions based in Africa to oversee and coordinate reparation initiatives. Nwoko remarked that this marks a paradigm shift, as the world has long acknowledged the crimes of slavery and colonialism without translating that acknowledgment into restitution.
By bringing this discussion to the United Nations, Nigeria’s Senate has succeeded in internationalizing Africa’s claim within the moral and legal frameworks of global diplomacy. The New York Declaration positions reparations as a shared global responsibility rather than merely an African grievance. Nwoko also noted that his strategic push for reparations has become one of the most intellectually significant legislative initiatives from Nigeria’s 10th Assembly, signaling a new paradigm where the legislature actively engages in global justice diplomacy.