1 week ago
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By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, has urged African leaders to wantonness the continent’s overreliance connected overseas aid.
Delivering a stirring keynote code astatine the 2025 Innovate Africa Conference held Thursday astatine the ECOWAS Conference Hall, Abuja, Wike urged African leaders to clasp visionary, accountable and people-centered governance that volition unlock Africa’s immense imaginable for self-sustaining development.
He declared that Africa’s translation volition not travel from donor-driven interventions but from indigenous innovation, bold enactment and productive concern successful infrastructure, younker and quality capital.
Speaking connected the theme, “Reimagining Africa’s Leadership and Investment,” the FCT Minister said it was clip for the continent to “rise beyond the rhetoric of assistance and dependency” and illustration a caller people of economical sovereignty built connected courage, imaginativeness and collaboration.
“Foreign aid, erstwhile embraced arsenic a span to development, has excessively often go a crutch that weakens resoluteness and distorts priorities. Development cannot beryllium donated; it indispensable beryllium built. Africa indispensable present beryllium defined not by grants and conditionalities, but by ideas, innovation and indigenous strength”, Wike declared.
The erstwhile Rivers State politician called for urgent, corporate enactment to redefine Africa’s communicative from 1 of dependency to 1 of dignity and self-determination.
He said; “Africa’s aboriginal volition not beryllium fixed to us. We indispensable physique it. And we indispensable physique it now. The question is not whether Africa tin rise, but whether we person the courageousness to lead, the contented to invest, and the volition to unite.
“The aboriginal of planetary prosperity volition beryllium written present connected African soil, by African hands, and for the glory of Africa and each humanity”, helium stated.
The Minister, who was honoured with the Innovate Africa Leadership Award 2025, dedicated the designation to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian people, describing the grant arsenic a testament to purposeful governance and infrastructural renewal successful the FCT.
He commended the organizers for what helium described arsenic “a fair-minded designation of enactment anchored connected imaginativeness and accountability,” adding that Abuja’s caller infrastructural translation nether his ticker demonstrates “what is imaginable erstwhile enactment dares to imagination and deliver.”
The curate argued that Africa’s top situation is not a deficiency of resources but a shortage of prime leadership.
“How tin a continent truthful richly blessed stay truthful constrained? Leadership is the fulcrum upon which the destinies of nations turn. When enactment is visionary, accountable, and courageous, adjacent the astir daunting obstacles go opportunities”, helium said.
He condemned what helium called “the plague of mediocre and mediocre leadership” that has stifled Africa’s improvement for decades, insisting that the 21st period demands a caller procreation of prepared, principled, and passionate leaders who embody motivation quality and resilience.
“True enactment is not astir presumption oregon power, but astir inspiring, serving, and journeying with those you lead. The enactment Africa needs indispensable attraction alternatively than control, indispensable usher alternatively than command”, helium said.
Wike besides praised President Tinubu’s “bold and difficult” reforms, particularly the removal of the substance subsidy and decentralization efforts aimed astatine devolving improvement person to the people.
According to him, Tinubu’s argumentation absorption reflects “leadership that understands sacrifice for the greater good,” noting that the reforms are already yielding fiscal stableness and renewed anticipation successful the nation’s economy.
The Minister called for a paradigm displacement successful Africa’s concern philosophy—from extractive to productive and inclusive investment.
“Our top assets is not oil, minerals, oregon fertile soil—it is our people,” helium said. “When enactment builds the enabling environment—stable power, beardown institutions, and transparent policies—investment follows”, helium said.
He stressed that with 70 percent of Africa’s colonisation nether 30, the continent is sitting connected a demographic goldmine that indispensable beryllium harnessed done education, integer literacy, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Wike besides cited the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA arsenic a beacon of renewed anticipation for economical self-reliance, describing it arsenic “the modern reawakening of the Lagos Plan of Action” and a “cornerstone of Africa’s 2nd liberation...
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