Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has attended the 2026 Kalibi Festival in Sankana in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region, calling on communities to preserve their history and pass it on to younger generations as a foundation for development.
Addressing a durbar of chiefs, government officials, and community members, the Vice President described Sankana as a place of deep personal significance, noting that some of her earliest academic research was conducted there. She holds the traditional title Pognaa Piirima, meaning “Mother of the Rocks,” conferred on her by the Sankana Traditional Council.
“People who are grounded in their history are better equipped to shape their future with clarity and purpose,” she said, urging schools in the area to incorporate local history into their curricula. She highlighted Sankana’s documented legacy of resistance against enslavement as a narrative that challenges misconceptions about Africa’s response to oppression and one that deserves global recognition, particularly given growing international acknowledgment of the transatlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity.
The Vice President assured residents of government support under President John Dramani Mahama’s Big Push agenda, citing ongoing road projects, plans for 24-hour markets, and investments in educational infrastructure including sanitation and support for girls’ education.
Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin also addressed the festival, pledging tangible government support and announcing the Shea Park Industrial Hub as a flagship initiative to transform the Upper West Region’s economy. He said the project, backed by international partners including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Shea Alliance, aims to restore 100,000 hectares of degraded land and plant 3.5 million shea trees. He further disclosed that the European Union (EU) has committed €4 million to support Ghana’s shea industry. The Speaker also announced plans to dredge the Sankana Dam to boost irrigation, potable water supply, and climate resilience.
Pan-African scholar Prof. P. L. O. Lumumba, also addressing the gathering, warned that while traditional slavery has ended, new forms of cultural domination persist. He called for continental unity, unequivocal apologies, and restitution for the slave trade, insisting that Africa must reclaim its cultural identity as the foundation of its dignity.
The Kalibi Festival, celebrated annually in Sankana, honours the community’s history of resistance and serves as a platform for unity and development advocacy.
