Nigeria is not progressing economically as it should, according to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who spoke on Thursday at the ongoing Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Abuja.
Obasanjo, who chairs the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) Advisory Council, made the remark during a high-level conversation with Fifi Peters, CNBC Senior Anchor, on the theme: “African Renaissance in an Era of Turbulence: Are the Lions Still on the Move?”
“We are not where we should be economically,” Obasanjo declared. “For over three or four decades, Nigeria has taken two steps forward, one step aside, and maybe one or two steps backward.”
While reflecting on Africa’s growth potential, Obasanjo challenged the notion that the continent’s “lions”, a reference to its leading economies are truly on the move. He argued that many of them, including Nigeria, are not progressing at the pace required to spark a continental renaissance.
Citing key African nations with large populations or economic weight, Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and South Africa, Obasanjo said these countries must take the lead to move the continent forward. He stressed, however, that many are stagnating economically and politically.
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He added that while Egypt may be an exception in terms of economic movement, most of the others are underperforming. “The lions are there, but they are not moving as they should. And until they do, Africa won’t move,” he said.
Obasanjo called for a rethinking of leadership, governance systems, and development models across Africa. According to him, Africa must shift from an overreliance on foreign aid and external validation to one built on knowledge, internal systems, and self-reliant growth. He also emphasised that many of the continent’s challenges are rooted in weak systems of accountability and a misunderstanding of economics by those in power.
“Aid is not the way forward. We’ve lived too long on aid. It’s time to substitute that dependency with internal strategies. We must also rethink Western liberal democracy, it hasn’t delivered even for those who invented it,” he said.
Obasanjo also underscored the importance of tailored African systems of governance rooted in consensus and communal values. “We must stop copying and start adapting. Our democracy today is too focused on money, it’s moneytocracy,” he noted.
He identified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as one of the few pan-African initiatives that has been rightly executed and urged continued focus on such efforts to boost intra-African trade, industrialisation, and long-term prosperity.
In her response, moderator Fifi Peters highlighted the analogy of “The Lion King,” noting the importance of every player in Africa’s economic ecosystem, whether large or small. She urged a renewed commitment to getting the continent’s “lions” to move together, echoing Obasanjo’s call for leadership that understands the world and Africa’s place in it.
The Afreximbank Annual Meetings have drawn policymakers, business leaders, and development partners from across the continent, with discussions centred on trade, innovation, and strategies for Africa’s economic transformation.
