By Gabriel Ameh
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on African leaders to help de-escalate tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea and return to dialogue as Nigeria pushes for stronger cooperation among the founding members of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
Tinubu made the appeal in Nigeria’s National Statement delivered by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Sola Enikanolaiye, at the NEPAD Founding Member States’ Summit in Alamein, Egypt.
The summit, hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, marks the 25th anniversary of NEPAD.
Tinubu said the anniversary provided an opportunity for the founding countries to reflect on NEPAD’s achievements, assess current challenges and strengthen their commitment to Africa’s future development.
He maintained that Africa’s development cannot be outsourced, particularly amid geopolitical tensions, climate change, technological gaps and difficult global financing conditions.
The President said Africa already has major development frameworks, including Agenda 2063, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), but stressed the need to translate them into tangible benefits for Africans, particularly young people and women.
Nigeria’s Five Priorities
Nigeria proposed five strategic priorities for the NEPAD founding states:
- Accelerating continental economic integration through full implementation of AfCFTA;
- Closing Africa’s infrastructure gap through cross-border infrastructure and strategic corridors;
- Strengthening development financing and mobilising African capital;
- Investing in education, science, technology and vocational training; and
- Strengthening peace, security and good governance.
On peace and security, Tinubu urged African leaders to prevail on countries facing the prospect of armed conflict to step back from escalation and resolve their differences through diplomacy.
The appeal appeared to be directed at the growing tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Tinubu warned that terrorism, violent extremism, transnational organised crime and political instability continue to threaten African communities and undermine economic development.
He called for stronger intelligence-sharing, improved border management, greater investment in addressing socio-economic challenges and accelerated operationalisation of the Africa Standby Force.
Nigeria also welcomed the Summit Declaration and reaffirmed its readiness to work with other NEPAD founding states on a structured cooperation mechanism covering trade, infrastructure, energy, food security, technology, development finance, human capital, peace and security.
The proposed cooperation, Nigeria said, would complement the work of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) and the African Union.
Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja
