Use AfCFTA to build tech jobs and stop youth migration, Omane Boamah tells African leaders

The Minister of Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, has urged African leaders to move beyond rhetoric and fully implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in a way that creates real jobs and opportunities for the continent’s youth.

Speaking at the Futures Forum at the London School of Economics on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, Dr Boamah said many young Africans are leaving not because they want to, but because their home countries have failed to offer them a future they can believe in.

He argued that the AfCFTA must serve as more than a legal document, describing it as “a blueprint for shared prosperity, for jobs, and for homegrown innovation” that must be made real through targeted investments in youth and technology.

“Let us imagine, and work toward, an Africa where young men and women no longer flee bomb-struck streets, but walk freely into classrooms that inspire them to think, lead, and dream without fear,” Dr Boamah told participants, who included global policymakers, academics, and entrepreneurs.

Dr Boamah shared Ghana’s One Million Coders Programme as an example of how governments can create meaningful opportunities for their young citizens. 

Led by Minister Sam George, the programme is training youth in areas such as data protection, cyber security, artificial intelligence, and software engineering.

“Through the One Million Coders’ Programme, we seek to equip the youth with critical skill sets,” he said, adding that such efforts are necessary if Africa is to compete in an increasingly digital and automated world.

The Minister said technology hubs and innovation centres must become central to national development plans rather than isolated projects. 

He urged African governments to treat education, healthcare, and public services not as expenses but as strategic investments that build peace and reduce the pressure to migrate.

He also challenged international partners to rethink their role in African development, calling for long-term support that strengthens institutions and creates real opportunity, rather than short-term aid that addresses only symptoms.

On global security, Dr Boamah said Africa must no longer remain on the margins of decision-making. 

“Africa must not sit on the sidelines, we must shape the future we deserve,” he stated, arguing that only a united and proactive continent can influence international arrangements in its favour.

Dr Boamah closed with a call to action for the continent and its diaspora: “Africa, let’s get to work – Come home, let us build the Africa We Want.”