Mahama at the UN: Africa has stopped asking for permission, by Ejiro Ofoye

President John Dramani Mahama’s address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York was more than another presidential speech in the annual ritual of world leaders taking turns at the podium. It was an unusually broad statement of Africa’s grievances, ambitions and expectations of the international system. Delivered on September 24, 2026, against the official theme of “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all,” Mahama used Ghana’s platform to connect Gaza, Palestine, Cuba, Sudan, slavery, reparations, Africa’s mineral wealth, climate finance, debt, global health and reform of the international financial system. The significance for Niger...