President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for the strengthening of regional economic communities to enhance integration and trade among African nations, aiming to bolster democracy and accelerate development across the continent.
Speaking at the Summit on the State of Democracy in Africa on Wednesday in Abuja, Tinubu urged the revitalization of sub-regional blocs like ECOWAS, EAC, and SADC to foster robust intra-African commerce, economic growth, and job creation.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu emphasized that Nigeria’s experience shows that the solution to poor democratic governance is more democracy.
“The immense potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, can only be maximally realized with concrete economic integration and collaboration at different sub-regional levels,” he said.
In his keynote address, President Tinubu called on regional bodies to minimize trade barriers, promote sustainable economic growth, and enhance human capital development, especially in agriculture and agro-allied sectors.
“We must deliberate on ways through which African sub-regional organizations can help foster better intra-African trade, achieve better food and energy security, promote higher youth employment, alleviate poverty, and realize greater prosperity for our people,” he stated.
Tinubu stressed that reinvigorated sub-regional cooperation is crucial for the successful implementation of AfCFTA by harmonizing rules to facilitate the free movement of goods, services, and people.
Addressing concerns about recent military coups, Tinubu acknowledged successful elections in countries like Liberia, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria but expressed alarm over coups in Mali, Guinea Conakry, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, and Gabon.
He advocated for discussions on empowering regional blocs to establish well-funded standby military forces to counter military adventurers and terrorism.
President Tinubu also urged African leaders to respect constitutional principles like term limits and ensure credible elections through the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) for democratic consolidation.
“This summit must discuss ways of making the APRM contribute to achieving good governance and democratic consolidation on the continent,” he said.
Declaring that Africa can no longer be the “doormat of the world with street beggar economies,” President Tinubu called for concrete measures through reinvented regional bodies to boost trade, enhance security, and entrench constitutional democracy for development and prosperity.
