For many decades, Nigeria has worn the title “Giant of Africa,” a phrase that reflects its leadership role in the continent’s political and economic affairs. The ‘giant’ epithet also alludes to the country’s large population and illustrious history.
Despite its growing population, Nigeria’s stature among its peers appears more of a symbolic label rather than a reflection of tangible influence. The latest United Nations Resolution A/80/L.48 which called for reparations over slavery’s historical wrongs may have exposed one of such shortcomings; as much seems to be left undone where much is possible.
The UN resolution, which called for reparative justice following the locust years of the slave trade, has continued to command global attention.
In March 2026, the United Nations General Assembly dramatically agreed that the trans-Atlantic slave trade was the “gravest crime against humanity.” Although tardy in arrival, the resolution was a commendable development. Spearheaded by Ghana, the resolution was endorsed by 123 countries, including Nigeria.
The decisive resolution highlighted the enduring impact of systemic racism in today’s world and called for reparative justice. Stating its terms, the resolution specifically called for formal apologies, restitution of pillaged cultural artefacts, compensation, development support, and urged member states to engage in dialogue on justice and historical accountability.
For many Africans, the UN’s oppositional stance to the trans-Atlantic slave trade has been welcomed as a concrete step towards remedying unforgettable, deeply inflicted harm that left a lasting scar on the continent.
It was, sadly, the case at the New York gathering that the principal architects and beneficiaries of the dehumanising slave trade, including Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and other members of the European Union, abstained from taking a position on the matter. In an overtly audacious manner, the trio of the United States of America, Israel and Argentina categorically voted against the resolution.
The conduct of these divisive actions cuts deeply into the flesh of Africa’s unhealed history. The table manner on the global stage should provoke far more concern than it has generated so far. For one, Africans’ attention to and engagement with this development has not been exemplary.
The much needed evaluation of the development has suffered because of the continent’s low consciousness about its own history. This has been made a reality following the maiming of history education in many parts of the continent.
The UN forum was notably not the first place where such reparations have been called for, with countries like the United Kingdom and other European Union member states rejecting the subject.
The patterns of refusal to recognise the crime are deliberate deviations, showing little regard for the roles or the enduring impact of the slave trade. Generally, the 55 opposing and abstaining countries argue that today’s governments and institutions should not be held accountable for past actions.
The U.S. representative to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Ambassador Dan Negrea, claimed that the resolution was “highly problematic in countless respects,” arguing that the United Nations “was not founded to advance narrow specific interests and agendas, to establish nice International Days, or to create new costly meeting and reporting mandates.” This unconvincing argument failed to acknowledge the ledger of the U.S. roles, shortcomings, and conscience.
The resolution as seen, without doubt, has been a mix of cowardice and performance of superfluous arguments expended to evade historic accountability. The global community’s divided reactions reveal much about where humanity stands on the scale of justice.
Mindful Africans, however, should neither overlook nor ignore the connection between the continent’s history and its current realities. Documentation, oral history and the socio-cultural conditions of the African peoples remind us of a dark past while explaining the rationale behind the continent’s trajectory today.
It is worth emphasizing that Africa’s status before, during, and after the Atlantic slave trade profoundly shaped the continent and its people, and continues to influence more than just historical understanding.
Although Africa is the oldest and still the most stable landmass on Earth, its fate and that of its inhabitants have been characterised by persistent challenges and significantly burdened by numerous contingencies.
The weight of this historical knowledge makes it imperative to recognize and support actions and resolutions that restore misplaced dignity and foster unity within the global community.
From the mass migration of modern humans from Africa approximately 100,000 years ago through the Isthmus of Suez and into the wider world, to the medieval slave trade across the Sahara Desert, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean, exporting roughly 5,000 to 10,000 slaves per year for centuries before 1600, the African continent has experienced phases that have undeniably shaped its destiny.
More significantly, the 15th-century trans-Atlantic slave trade, particularly along the Guinea Coast and the Bights of Benin and Biafra, exerted a far greater impact than earlier slave trades elsewhere in Africa, placing the continent’s trajectory under enduring strain.
For roughly 400 years, Africans were regarded by Europeans as legitimate items of commerce. Historian Philip D. Curtin, in his landmark book “The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census” estimated that 9,391,100 enslaved Africans landed in the Americas between 1451 and 1870.
His study revealed that fewer than 5 percent arrived in the United States, while the largest proportion, 42 percent, was sold to plantation owners on the sugar islands of the Caribbean. Curtin also noted that between 10 and 20 percent of enslaved Africans died en route.
Without embellishment, the triangular slave trade functioned as a mechanism for capitalist profit, labour exploitation, class and racial oppression, and a pipeline for imperialism and Africa’s underdevelopment.
Over these four centuries, able-bodied men and women were stolen from Africa, shackled, and forced to labour on cotton fields and plantations under scorching heat and the crack of whip.
The victims suffered mercilessly from disease, death, abuse, psychological suppression, and the loss of personhood. The enduring impacts of the trans-Atlantic slave trade extended into multiple dimensions.
There was the massive depopulation of the continent, disruption of local economies, intensification of warfare among African states, depletion of cultural heritage, and the perpetuation of historical injustice and inequality. Since then, Africans have struggled, and continue to struggle, towards reclaiming misplaced identity.
Today, the struggle persists as neo-colonialism permeates nearly all aspects of African life – political, economic, social, and cultural. To abstain from or oppose the UN resolution is therefore to inflict further pain on the afflicted.
It is at this juncture that Pan-African unity becomes critically important, and Nigeria’s role must become genuinely meaningful. It is also at this juncture that Nigeria’s stature as the continent’s “Giant” should be fully leveraged.
Ghana’s leadership, demonstrated by its ability to rally cross-regional support, is highly commendable. With a population of just over 35 million, the West African country has moved the injustice of the past beyond mere acknowledgment of past atrocities.
Ghana has elevated the discussion from reflection to the pursuit of concrete commitments aimed at redress, structural reform and systemic transformation.
As Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama asserts, “The resolution is a pathway to healing and reparative justice and a safeguard against forgetting.” This decisive resolution futher demands that African nations must rise to the occasion and provide stronger support for the cause.
They must build on this initiative well begun in 2023, mandating Ghana to lead the reparations struggle for Africa and its diaspora, and translate them into actionable measures. These actions should proceed through political, diplomatic, and cultural channels.
To advance the resolution recognizing the trans-Atlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity,” Nigeria particularly must actively contribute to and coordinate a unified stance at the UN and other international forums.
The giant’s diplomatic advocacy should include engagement with countries that abstained or opposed the resolution. This effort should begin with domestic policy and legal measures that acknowledge the gravity of the slave trade and its enduring consequences.
We need national laws, formal declarations, annual remembrance days (not necessarily public holidays), and other reparative initiatives that can foster historical consciousness and enhance understanding of the slave trade significance.
Nigeria can also promote regional cooperation by forming an African alliance to collaboratively share resources and advocacy strategies. Furthermore, the federal government, through relevant ministries, should reassess and potentially redesign the school curriculum to address existing knowledge gaps among citizens. Africa’s search for reparative justice is valid. Its cultivation, like charity, should however start from home.