Vice President Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang has attended the Kalibi Ganlaa Festival in Sankana, in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region.
Vice President Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang in Nadoli -Kaleo District.Sankana has long been part of broader historical currents—within Ghana, across the continent, and beyond. Decades ago, I began visiting this and other communities twice a year to research the impact of enslavement and the ways communities actively resisted it. What began as an academic engagement has, over time, evolved into a deeper, more enduring relationship.
This year’s festival, under the auspices of the Sankana Na, Pagiran-Nege Saakoe Mornaa III, honoured the Speaker of Parliament, the Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, and the Kenyan lawyer PLO Lumumba, through the conferment of traditional titles. The festival also underscored the importance of documenting and preserving history.
In her remarks, the Vice President linked the recent United Nations resolution on the transatlantic slave trade to sites such as Sankana.
”These places are vital to our understanding of identity and must be preserved accurately, with the support of both community leadership and the government”.
At the same time, development remains a priority, the Vice President noted.
”Through the Big Push programme, we are advancing key projects in the region, including major road works, new 24-hour markets, and improvements in school infrastructure, according to the Vice President .
She noted that supporting education, particularly for girls, remains central to ensuring inclusive and sustained progress.
Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang was grateful to the people of Sankana ”for their kind invitation and for the relationship we continue to build”.
