Visitors examined François‑Auguste Biard’s painting *The Abolition of Slavery in the French Colonies, 27 April 1848* during a press visit to the exhibition “Black Models: From Géricault to Matisse” at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris on Monday. The show runs from 26 March to 21 July 2019. (Photo: AFP)
In recent months I have observed Europe’s growing willingness to confront its colonial past in Africa, from the return of stolen artefacts by Britain and the Netherlands to the Dutch government’s formal apology for the transatlantic slave trade. These steps are positive, yet media coverage often reduces the complex history of slavery to a simplistic “black‑and‑white” narrative. While European nations must take responsibility for their actions, we must also acknowledge the role our own ancestors played in the slave trade. Recognising African participation helps us understand the lasting consequences of slavery on the continent and the need for further redress.
Many people overlook the fact that, long before the transatlantic trade, Africa had its own extensive history of domestic slavery. African empires were built on the labour of slaves captured during conflicts between kingdoms, nations, or kinship groups. Captives were enslaved as prisoners of war, used for labour, to expand kin groups, or to spread spiritual beliefs. Wole Soyinka’s *Death and the King’s Horseman* dramatizes the brutal practice of sacrificing an enslaved person to accompany a deceased king to the afterlife, illustrating the harsh realities of traditional institutions. Similarly, the Osu caste system among the Igbo, described by Chinua Achebe, designated certain people as outcasts who could not marry freeborn individuals, attend their meetings, or be buried in the same cemeteries. This system legally sanctioned servitude and has left a lasting stigma on descendants, who continue to face discrimination.
During the transatlantic slave trade, many African institutions were not passive observers but active participants who profited from selling captives to European traders in exchange for guns, textiles, and other valuables. This commerce enriched kingdoms and chiefs, reinforcing their power over their subjects. Today, the descendants of those institutions often retain significant wealth and influence. In Nigeria, traditional chiefs—though the country is a republic—still wield considerable authority, inherit opulent palaces, expensive cars, and generous government stipends. Paradoxically, ordinary Nigerians, many of whom struggle financially, pay taxes that support these lavish lifestyles. As with the crime of receiving stolen property, both the European colonisers and the African intermediaries bear culpability for profiting from the sale of “stolen” people.
Modern slavery persists in Sub‑Saharan Africa, affecting an estimated 3.3 million people through forced labour and forced marriage. This demonstrates that slavery has not truly ended on the continent, despite the cessation of the transatlantic trade. Traditional African institutions should therefore lead reparations programmes for the descendants of enslaved peoples, offering financial compensation, land redistribution, or other remedies, and work to combat ongoing discrimination and forced labour. While these institutions play a role in preserving cultural heritage, that role does not grant them moral superiority; their actions must be judged on their own merits, not excused as sacred tradition.
A single narrative of slavery obscures the broader picture. Genuine healing and reconciliation require African traditional institutions to acknowledge and accept responsibility for their historical involvement. Simultaneously, individuals must educate themselves about the full history of slavery—not only the transatlantic trade—and examine their own beliefs and actions today. The legacy of slavery belongs to everyone, and the responsibility to address it extends beyond Europeans to all who are implicated.
Lari‑Williams is a Lagos‑based lawyer.
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