AACS Fortnightly
(Mondays)
25th September 2023

From The Chairman’s Desk,

That UNGA Speech by PBAT

Since the arrival of the Europeans on the shores of Africa in 1488 heralded by the Portuguese Diogo Cao primarily for trade, and the subsequent scramble and partition of Africa at the German capital of Berlin in 1884, few speeches by an African leader speaking at a global forum has resounded a renaissance of the consciousness of the continent like that of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Nigerian leader who spoke from an African perspective demanding respect, and trade with Africa rather than aids.

There is a fundamental tilt against Africa, and it should be addressed. The continent cannot be home to the raw materials and rare earth minerals of the world and be choking on the throes of poverty. PBAT speech touched on five basic principles and demanded an African ‘Marshall Plan’ to mark a Renaissance.

a. The world, primarily the West, needs to prioritize Africa and the global south as development priorities for fair trade, in order to create wealth and jobs.

b. Africa must insist on democracy even if it would have a local tilt, but coups or military rule will not serve her interest.

c. The fierce urgency of fighting inhuman commerce where people are trafficked and violent extremists plunge the continent, aided by the flow of arms from the world powers.

d. The need to stop the looting of mineral resources from Africa rather than a mutually beneficial exploitation of the resources. Congo, Sudan, Mali, Nigeria etc cannot continue to struggle and foreign dominated looting of its rare minerals continues, and attempts to stem it misrepresented on the altars of human rights advocacy.

e. The effects of climate change, desert encroachment in the north, rising sea tide in the south and flood in the middle. Africa would support climate change, but only on fair terms. Established economies must help Africa by investing. The big economies of the world grew on the back of coal and fossil fuel. If clean energy is the future, those who benefited from ‘dirty energy’ to grow should offer a huge hand to Africa.

The Nigerian leader spoke from an African perspective and showed what ails the continent is common and should be handled communally. To initiate the renaissance, it is important for the leadership of the continent to unite.

Falil Ayo Abina

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/aacs-ng_unga-africa-aacs-activity-7111967555711287296-pKYx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop