BARBADOS, On a warm Barbados night suffused with salt air, drumbeats, and the weight of history, the 16th edition of the GUBA Awards unfolded like a long-awaited reunion. For the first time, the ceremony, one of the most influential platforms celebrating global African achievement, was staged in the Caribbean, transforming the Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle Hotel into a living bridge between two sides of the Atlantic that have been divided for centuries.
This year’s theme, Reclaiming Our Atlantic Destiny: Build. Connect. Renew., was not a slogan, it was a declaration. And nowhere was that more evident than in the presence of His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, whose arrival in Barbados signalled a rare moment of cultural reconnection. His presence elevated the evening from a celebration into a symbolic homecoming.
The historic charter flight from Accra, sponsored and made possible by Milvest, part of Miller Holding, the Title Sponsor of the three-day GUBA 2025 event, carried a diverse delegation of cultural figures, business leaders, and diaspora storytellers. As one of the passengers on that flight, I felt the quiet electricity that travelled with us across the Atlantic. The cabin carried not just people, but memory, identity, and the steady sense that we were retracing a path disrupted centuries ago.
Although the Asantehene arrived separately on his private jet, his presence in Barbados, alongside those who journeyed on the charter, formed a collective moment of reconnection that resonated deeply throughout the week.
When the Asantehene entered the GUBA ballroom, the energy shifted instantly. His role was not ceremonial, it was ancestral.
“We are not merely attending a ceremony,” he told the audience. “We are fulfilling a mission: reclaiming our Atlantic destiny, connect, build, and renew.”
His words carried the weight of return and a renewed insistence that the separation between Africa and the Caribbean has endured long enough.
British-Ghanaian GUBA founder and MBE Lady Dentaa Amoateng, whose work has consistently demanded the amplification of diasporic voices, framed the night with characteristic clarity.
“Representation is not a luxury. It is a responsibility,” she said. “When voices are missing from the table, decisions are made without understanding, and opportunities are distributed without equality.”
Her message resonated powerfully in Barbados, a country where African identity is not a memory but a living daily presence. By hosting GUBA here, the Awards returned to a region whose cultural DNA remains deeply linked to the continent.
This spirit of reconnection was reflected in the individuals honoured throughout the night.
Dr. Kevin Greenidge, Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, accepted the Black Star of Excellence in Vanguard Economic Leadership with humility and a sense of shared achievement.
“This recognition belongs not to me alone,” he said. “Together, we prove that with belief, support, and determination, extraordinary things are possible.”
Other award recipients represented a spectrum of global impact, including Dr. Velma Scantlebury’s groundbreaking medical career, Sir Clive Lloyd’s athletic legacy, Maya Kirti-Nanan’s youth advocacy, Ibrahim Mahama’s artistic innovation, John Hope Bryant’s investment activism, Reta Jo Lewis’s economic diplomacy, Derrick Johnson’s civil rights leadership, Clare Akamanzi’s executive influence, and Sir Richard Branson’s recognition as a Global Citizenship Icon.
The night unfolded not only through speeches, but through cultural expression. Fuse ODG delivered a set charged with diasporic pride, and TrufacebyGrace presented a fashion showcase that wove together West African aesthetic memory and Caribbean rhythm.
Beyond the ceremony, the Asantehene engaged with Barbadian leaders on a deeper mission. During an address at the University of the West Indies, he called for the creation of “air and sea bridges” between Africa and the Caribbean, practical pathways meant to break the barriers that have long hindered sustained connection.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley welcomed him to Ilaro Court, emphasizing the “deep historical and cultural bonds” linking Barbados and Ghana, and speaking of their discussions on future cooperation and shared opportunities.
In many ways, GUBA 2025 was more than an event. Barbados did not simply host the Awards, it received them. And in that act of reception, something profound shifted: a reclaiming of narrative, place, and belonging.
If the Awards return to the Caribbean in 2027, as Lady Dentaa hinted, it will not be an isolated chapter. It will be a continuation of a journey that began long before any of us boarded that charter flight.
For now, the Atlantic feels a little narrower, the distance between Accra and Bridgetown feels a little more traversable, and the diaspora feels a little more whole.
And as the night closed, it was clear: this was not only a ceremony.
It was a crossing.
Credit: Jot Photography, Ernest Simmons Photography, Manuel Photography
