Bolaji Adebiyi, in Algiers
Former president of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday urged African leaders to ensure inclusive governance, explaining that most conflicts on the continent stem from the mismanagement of its diversity.
Moreover, he said that Africa’s development would be illusory unless the continent is economically integrated.
Obasanjo spoke during a fireside chat at the ongoing 4th Intra-African Trade Fair in Algiers, Algeria, emphasising that unity and economic integration are the twin prerequisites for Africa to grow and compete successfully with the developed world.
Fielding questions from the moderator, CNBC’s Ms Fifi Peters, he highlighted the mismanagement of Africa’s diversity as a contributing factor to most of the continent’s conflicts and urged leaders to seek inclusiveness.
He stated, “All countries in Africa, indeed the whole world, face the problem of diverse languages, cultures, religions, social positions, and many other forms of diversity.
“And, you find that in most of these countries where you have internal conflict, you can attribute the cause to mismanagement or poor management of diversity.”
Obasanjo, who is also the chairman of the IATF’s Advisory Council, stated that the solution was for the leaders to retrace their steps and rectify the abnormality.
According to him, “We need to go back, at every level, even at the level of family, extended family, and communities, and ensure that we manage diversity very well.
“We must prioritise inclusion in managing our diversity. Nobody should feel marginalised, excluded, or believe they have no stake. That is very important.”
Voicing his conviction about Africa’s unity, he said that his experience during the 1960 peacekeeping mission in the Congo, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he worked alongside Ghanaian and other African soldiers for a common purpose, convinced him that Africans could collaborate effectively.
“Africans can unite, even with global support, to accomplish whatever Africa chooses to achieve,” he said.
He also referenced the fight against apartheid in South Africa, stating that its defeat through a united effort by African countries demonstrated the importance of unity, and that African unity could be achieved if there was a common purpose and coordinated action.
The former Nigerian president emphasised the importance of African leaders following through on their promises to foster the continent’s unity. “People talk of political will. I will talk about political will and political action. Political will is not enough. Political will must be matched by political action.”
He pointed out that the ongoing Intra-African Trade was ample evidence of the possibilities ahead, explaining that when he was invited eight years ago to chair its advisory board, he was apprehensive.
“But today, here we have 48 countries with pavilions and exhibitions; 50 countries represented, and 11 countries from outside Africa working with us. So, it can be done,” Obasanjo said.
Acknowledging IATF as one of the significant efforts to unite and integrate Africa and the Diaspora, the former president praised the organisers’ efforts and noted that the trade meeting had made incremental progress, which must not be taken for granted.
“When we began eight years ago, I never imagined we would speak about Global Africa the way we do now. There are conflicts, but the six regions of the AU, the Diaspora, and Africa have become almost as engaged as the other five internal regions. That should not be underestimated,” he stated.
Asked how Africa’s economic development could be quickened, he said the answer lay in its unity and economic integration, contending that the continent could not succeed by outsourcing its development.
According to him, “Our coming together is what will get us out of the shame and the indignity that we have been subjected to by slavery, the slave trade, colonialism, and neo-colonialism.
“We have everything that we need to lead the world as a Black race. Why are we Lilliputians instead of being giants? Simple. We haven’t worked together. Our founding fathers, at the time of independence, were clear in their vision that they needed a united Africa to move forward together.
“They appreciated it. They even worked for it. And, in the formation of the OAU, what they were asking for was unity. So that, if you act together, you will not be taken in small pieces and destroyed.”
He stated that Africans and their leaders must understand that the world in which they operate is stacked against them, explaining that all the global institutions, including the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, were not established to serve their interests.
Listen to him, “How much do we understand the world we find ourselves in? It’s not the world we created for ourselves; it’s the world in which we find ourselves. It’s the world of the World Bank; the world of the IMF, even, the world of the United Nations, and the world of the WHO.
“All these organisations were created before most of Africa gained independence. So, those organisations were not designed for us.”
Knowing that, he noted, Africans must look inwards to find their way out of the woods by taking seriously their own emerging institutions, including the AfCFTA, IATF, and Global Africa.
He explained that this meant Africa must pursue economic integration by creating a common market to boost intra-African trade, with a unified payment system and improved connectivity.
He warned that unless Africa integrated economically, its people would remain hewers of wood, which he said must not happen.
“I will say to every African, and everybody who loves Africa, that we must not outsource our development. Our development should be by us, for us, and with us,” he stated emphatically.
Organised by the Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the 4th IATF is attended by over 75,000 conference delegates, 48 exhibiting countries, and 2,000 exhibitors, who are expected to secure deals worth $44 billion.
Its proceedings close tomorrow.
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