Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, on Thursday issued a powerful call for African nations to stop depending on foreign aid and instead take full charge of their own development trajectory.
Delivering the keynote address at the 2025 Innovate Africa Conference, held at the ECOWAS Conference Hall in Abuja, Wike said Africa possesses the resources and talent needed to achieve prosperity but must embrace visionary and transformational leadership to unlock its potential.
“Africa must now rise above aid, rediscover her strength, and rebuild her institutions. Development cannot be donated; it must be built,” Wike declared.
“Our future must be crafted not in the conference rooms of donor agencies, but in the creative laboratories, farms, classrooms, and workshops of Africans determined to transform their continent.”
The summit, convened by Innovate Africa Corporation, brought together African leaders, global partners, business executives, investors, academics and innovators to chart a new course for continental progress.
Wike who received the Innovate Africa Leadership Award 2025 dedicated the honour to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigerian people, citing Abuja’s ongoing infrastructure upgrade as a testament to bold governance.
“This honour belongs not to me alone, but to the resilient people of Nigeria and especially to President Tinubu, whose bold vision has given me the platform to contribute to national transformation,” he said.
The Minister said Africa’s failure to translate its vast natural wealth and youthful population into tangible development is a consequence of “weak institutions, unemployment and leadership that focuses more on power than service.”
He stressed that leadership must be measured by results not ethnicity, religion or patronage.
“Leadership that builds, not blames; that inspires, not divides that is what Africa needs today,” he said.
Wike praised Tinubu’s early reforms particularly fuel subsidy removal and decentralisation of governance describing them as proof of leadership that “dares where others hesitate,” and is now boosting states’ revenues for grassroots development.
He further highlighted Africa’s youth over 70% under 30 as a “revolution waiting to happen” and urged massive investment in innovation, digital skills and entrepreneurship.
On economic integration, Wike hailed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as the continent’s “second liberation” this time, of its economy.
“AfCFTA is our declaration that Africa will no longer remain a supplier of raw materials and a dumping ground for finished goods,” he said.
Concluding, he charged African leaders, investors and citizens to stop waiting for external rescue:
“History will not remember what we merely dreamed for Africa; it will remember what we built for Africa and we must build it now.”
Chairman of the occasion, former Presidential aspirant Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, warned that Africa’s progress continues to be derailed by leaders who pursue power for personal gain rather than national development.
“Leadership is not for bullies or daydreamers,” he asserted.
“We need leaders who deliver results for the national interest, not personal gain.”
He called for a “leadership metamorphosis” driven by innovation, accountability, strong institutions and inclusive participation particularly for youth and those with hidden potential.
Ohuabunwa said Africa must shift “from aid to partnerships” grounded in mutual benefit and long-term development priorities.
