Making Africa next economic giant

Fifty-seven years ago, the foundation of the African Union (AU), then the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), was laid in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 25, 1963.

It was an occasion on which Africa celebrated its breakaway from the shackles of colonialism by laying the foundation for its unity, economic, social and cultural emancipation and progress.

But 57 years down the lane, can we say that Africa has attained any of its objectives of becoming the hub of unity and economic independence due to the abundance of the immense resources available to it?

It is sad that even inter and intra-African movement remain a major problem for Africans. It is worse when it comes to boosting or encouraging trade among African states and their peoples.

Without doubt, one of the major achievements on the continent has been the growth and expansion of democratic governance in many African countries.

The Daily Graphic is also happy that there has been a renaissance of projects such as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) which seeks to accelerate intra-African trade and boost Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.

Fortunately, Ghana, which has been the nerve centre of African liberation struggles, is hosting the headquarters of AfCFTA.

But in all these efforts, providing opportunity for Africans, especially, the youth to take centre stage in technology, science and research, production and trade among ourselves is vital to transform the continent.

If for nothing at all, the COVID-19 pandemic has taught the global community, particularly African countries, to be self-reliant and believe in our own.

In Ghana, the pandemic has shown the creativity of the Ghanaian and the capability of our scientists to deliver when challenged.

This is where we expect our leaders to invest more in our educational and research institutions to ensure that we maximise the resources we have on the continent and not become dependent on other countries.

As it is now, many may question the relevance of the AU and its impact or influence on member states.

The AU cannot and should not remain a talk-shop but an arena for the continent to develop a resilient body, leading to the development of homegrown solutions to address the continent’s peculiar challenges.

The Daily Graphic wishes to point to the fact that many of the countries Africa had always looked up to for support, are themselves battling to find answers to the COVID-19 pandemic. This should spur us on to find innovative ways to resolve the continent’s problems instead of looking for outsiders to help us. We must end our dependency phenomenon and do things on our own.

We believe we can achieve that if we support our researchers and technocrats to help us become very industrious and also encourage our own people to believe in their own.

The Daily Graphic challenges the leadership of the AU and African governments to initiate this debate and also provide the requisite support to their citizens to enable them to venture into more productive and homegrown innovations to boost development on the continent.

When we see that our leaders are encouraging and supporting us to believe in our own and do things for ourselves, we will be committing ourselves to making Africa the next economic giant and most influential politically in global affairs.