By Gideon Maxwell
June 15, 2024
Nigeria’s former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has emphasised the need for Africa to translate its huge economic potential into reality.
Speaking at the 2024 African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) yearly general meeting in Nassau, Bahamas, Osinbajo stressed that Africa needs to find ways of dealing with local issues and tackling the myriad of problems within the continent.
Prof. Osinbajo, who is also the Global Advisor of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), said “Africa will continue to prioritise long-term partnerships that serve our continent’s best interests,” addressing issues at a session on “Navigating Economic Transformation in a Polycrisis world: Strategies for Global Africa.”
“Africa’s only permanent friends are those who permanently support our interests,” Osinbajo said, highlighting the importance of self-reliance and local support,” Prof. Osinbajo stressed.
He also emphasised the role of the private sector in driving economic growth, citing the example of the Dangote project, which includes a 650,000 barrels per day refinery, as a testament to the private sector’s ability to attract cheap capital for investment.
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Osinbajo’s remarks come as experts at the meeting advocated for investment in infrastructure and the creation of stronger institutions to enable Africa to participate fully in the global economy.
Corroborating Nigeria’s former vice president, others who spoke at the meeting also highlighted the need for Africa to accelerate its growth rate, develop its infrastructure, and step up investment in the manufacturing sector to realize its economic potential.
They highlighted the need for Africa to accelerate its growth rate, develop its infrastructure, and step up investment in the manufacturing sector to realize its economic potential.
One of the speakers, a former vice chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States, Dr Roger Ferguson, said Africa’s growth rate must accelerate such that it would deliver what China and the Southeast Asian Tigers have done.
Ferguson emphasised that Africa’s vast infrastructure deficit has continued to constrain its growth, stressing that infrastructure development plays a pivotal role in enabling economic growth, fostering social progress, and driving sustainable development.
He also pointed out that the challenges facing Africa present an opportunity for the continent to embrace more efficient technologies, which have numerous benefits in areas such as healthcare delivery services and access to education.
Ferguson further stressed the need for Africa to step up investment in the manufacturing sector and funding for local production.
He said, “Africans need to have a payment system that can work effectively, step up manufacturing, develop infrastructure, fund investment in local production, save to have independence, and increase trade and investment within the continent.”
