Two noted advocates have welcomed a proposal by President John Mahama of the Republic of Ghana to create a pathway to citizenship for people of African descent, describing it as a major step toward the long-sought right of return to Africa.

Reviving the decades-old issue of repatriation, Mahama announced yesterday that his government is considering legislation to establish a pathway to citizenship for members of the global African family.

The proposal has resonated with Professor Verene A. Shepherd, historian and professor of social history at the University of the West Indies, Mona, and longtime Rastafari advocate Ras Iyah V.