The era of aid or free money is over for Africa—AfDB President 

Speaking at the 14th Convocation Ceremony of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Abuja on Friday, Adesina delivered a lecture titled “Advancing Africa’s Positioning within Global Development and Geopolitical Dynamics,” in which he urged the continent to reimagine its path to development in light of shifting global realities.

“The era of aid or free money is gone. Benevolence is not an asset class. African countries must now learn to develop via investment discipline. The old development models will no longer work,” Adesina declared.

Adesina highlighted several global developments reshaping the aid landscape, including the dismantling of the U.S. development aid agency and the rise of anti-aid sentiment across Europe.

“Produce local, buy local, trade more locally,” he charged.

Despite painting a stark picture of Africa’s current vulnerabilities, including restrictive immigration policies, undervaluation of natural capital, and the impacts of global tariff wars, Adesina positioned these as opportunities for Africa to assert itself in global economic dynamics.

“Forty-seven out of 54 African countries have been placed under higher U.S. tariffs. This will reduce exports, shrink foreign exchange earnings, weaken currencies, and drive up inflation,” he warned.

A consistent theme throughout Adesina’s speech was the need for Africa to break free from its dependence on raw material exports.

“The export of raw materials is the door to poverty. The export of value-added products is the highway to wealth. And Africa is tired of being poor,” he stated.

“Africa must become competitive in global value chains. It must move away from exporting raw minerals and into processing and high-value manufacturing,” Adesina emphasized.

Adesina will be completing his second five-year term as AfDB President in September this year and will be vacating the seat for a new helmsman.

Under his leadership at the AfDB, the Bank’s general capital increased from $93 billion in 2014 to $318 billion today, while achieving recognition as the Most Transparent Financial Institution in the world for two consecutive years.