By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, has urged African leaders to abandon the continent’s overreliance on foreign aid.
Delivering a stirring keynote address at the 2025 Innovate Africa Conference held Thursday at the ECOWAS Conference Hall, Abuja, Wike urged African leaders to embrace visionary, accountable and people-centered governance that will unlock Africa’s vast potential for self-sustaining development.
He declared that Africa’s transformation will not come from donor-driven interventions but from indigenous innovation, bold leadership and productive investment in infrastructure, youth and human capital.
Speaking on the theme, “Reimagining Africa’s Leadership and Investment,” the FCT Minister said it was time for the continent to “rise beyond the rhetoric of aid and dependency” and chart a new course of economic sovereignty built on courage, vision and collaboration.
“Foreign aid, once embraced as a bridge to development, has too often become a crutch that weakens resolve and distorts priorities. Development cannot be donated; it must be built. Africa must now be defined not by grants and conditionalities, but by ideas, innovation and indigenous strength”, Wike declared.
The former Rivers State governor called for urgent, collective action to redefine Africa’s narrative from one of dependency to one of dignity and self-determination.
He said; “Africa’s future will not be given to us. We must build it. And we must build it now. The question is not whether Africa can rise, but whether we possess the courage to lead, the wisdom to invest, and the will to unite.
“The future of global prosperity will be written here on African soil, by African hands, and for the glory of Africa and all humanity”, he stated.
The Minister, who was honoured with the Innovate Africa Leadership Award 2025, dedicated the recognition to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian people, describing the award as a testament to purposeful governance and infrastructural renewal in the FCT.
He commended the organizers for what he described as “a fair-minded recognition of leadership anchored on vision and accountability,” adding that Abuja’s recent infrastructural transformation under his watch demonstrates “what is possible when leadership dares to dream and deliver.”
The minister argued that Africa’s greatest challenge is not a lack of resources but a deficit of quality leadership.
“How can a continent so richly blessed remain so constrained? Leadership is the fulcrum upon which the destinies of nations turn. When leadership is visionary, accountable, and courageous, even the most daunting obstacles become opportunities”, he said.
He condemned what he called “the plague of poor and mediocre leadership” that has stifled Africa’s development for decades, insisting that the 21st century demands a new generation of prepared, principled, and passionate leaders who embody moral character and resilience.
“True leadership is not about position or power, but about inspiring, serving, and journeying with those you lead. The leadership Africa needs must care rather than control, must guide rather than command”, he said.
Wike also praised President Tinubu’s “bold and difficult” reforms, especially the removal of the fuel subsidy and decentralization efforts aimed at devolving development closer to the people.
According to him, Tinubu’s policy direction reflects “leadership that understands sacrifice for the greater good,” noting that the reforms are already yielding fiscal stability and renewed hope in the nation’s economy.
The Minister called for a paradigm shift in Africa’s investment philosophy—from extractive to productive and inclusive investment.
“Our greatest resource is not oil, minerals, or fertile soil—it is our people,” he said. “When leadership builds the enabling environment—stable power, strong institutions, and transparent policies—investment follows”, he said.
He stressed that with 70 percent of Africa’s population under 30, the continent is sitting on a demographic goldmine that must be harnessed through education, digital literacy, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Wike also cited the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA as a beacon of renewed hope for economic self-reliance, describing it as “the modern reawakening of the Lagos Plan of Action” and a “cornerstone of Africa’s second liberation – the liberation of its economy.”
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