President Akufi-Addo captures Nigeria’s past in Oxford University lecture

On Friday, May 11, 2018, President Akufo-Addo of Ghana delivered a speech at the University of Oxford, as part of its 2018 Africa Conference, on the theme “Enough Rhetoric! Catalysing an Era of Concrete Action”;

I want to thank warmly the organisers of the Oxford Africa Conference for the opportunity to be part of this prestigious event which is being held in this auditorium named after the greatest African of them all – Nelson Mandela.

Since, by the general sitting of the Ghanaian people and through the blessing of the Almighty God, I fill the high office of the President of the Republic of Ghana some sixteen months ago, I’ve been privileged to address audiences in the three most renowned institutions of higher learning in Britain. First at Cambridge University last year November., then last month, April at the London School of Economics and today, the icing on the cake – Oxford, arguably the greatest centre of learning in the world. I’m indeed honoured and pleased to be back here.

I know we complained of the rest of the world treating Africa as though it was one monolithic country, instead of a continent of fifty-four sovereign nations, but I know that the rest of the world is able to spell out and decide on what they see as individual successes.

Let me give you an example close to home, for most of you in the audience today. It’s probably before your time, but in the late 1970s and up till the mid 1980s. As a result of the discovery of considerable petroleum deposits and resources, Nigeria was booming. It was the place to be. We, Ghanaians were going through very difficult times then. We would arrive at Heathrow Airport and be headed into a cage to be subjected to four-third degree by immigration. We would look on as our Nigerian brothers would be way through with the ‘Welcome Sir and Welcome Madam.” The newspaper headlines in this country would be full of Nigerians leaving or forgetting bundles of money in telephone booths. Nigerians were the preferred tenants for those who had apartments to let. You could stop by any shop on any high street to buy or sell Naira – the Nigerian currency. You could do same in NewYork and many other western countries. I do not need to spell out today’s reality to anyone in this audience. I sight this just to make the point that the outside world is well able to tell that there are separate sovereign nations on the African continent, but when the news is not good, Africa is treated as one entity. The lesson must be clear to us. If there’s an Ebola outbreak in three West African countries, all Africans are potential carriers. If a grenade is thrown in a market in Mumbasa, a travel alert will be issued to potential travelers to all eastern and central African countries.

President Muhammadu Buhari receives The President of Ghana, H.E Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo. With them is the Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari during a visit to the State House in Abuja

During the period I referred to when Nigerians were being welcomed with open arms into this country, there was a lot of instability on the African continent. Nigeria herself did not have a democratic government apart from a five-year…

Ladies and gentlemen, we have to develop Africa and get known for prosperity and opportunities rather than poverty and despair, respect will follow without our asking for it. The problem we have and this will apply to most countries on the continent is that we have already lost so much time, we cannot afford a slow period of growth. We are a dynamic restless population, we demand and deserve the best of the world. They are not in the mood to wait for the dividend of a slow progression, as a trek across the Sahara definitely illustrates to us. If we continue along the same parts we have pursued since independence, we are not likely to achieve the rapid development that we need which is the only way we can generate jobs for our young people and hope for the future.

Our continent of Africa is endowed with immense natural resources. We have every mineral that mankind longs after and which is required to run a modern economy. Our continent is in possession of 30 percent of the earth remaining mineral resources. Like many other parts of the African continent, Ghana is a country that is well endowed with many natural resources gold, diamond, oil, gas, timber, cocoa, water …, you name it, we have it..Unfortunately, if you took an honest look at the state of our nation, you would not know that we have these natural endowments, we look poor, we feel poor and we have huge infrastructural deficits. The reason is not far to seek. Since independence, we’ve been stuck with the economic structure defined for our status as a colony, that is the production and export of raw materials which is at the mercy of widely fluctuating commodity prices over which we have no control and the import of manufactured commodities from the industries of the colonial powers which create wealth and jobs there, but not at home.

This economic structure has been exacerbated by mismanagement, corruption and high fiscal deficits which have become the hallmarks of our economy, which we finance through borrowing and foreign aid. The foreign aid dependency especially has been a debilitating factor in our efforts to develop our country. It saps our self confidence and undermines the dignity and respect that will propel us to prosperity. The very sad part of the aid dependency is that it was never intended to help us develop and stand on our own. It must be clear to all of us that the economic transformation we aspire for will not come through aid. Sixty years is a long time to be trying something and I believe and stand to accept that aid will not take us to the status of developed nations. It’s also obvious that many of those who have been giving aid no longer do so with enthusiasm. It shows in the many ruses that have been devised to make the aid money remain in the donor nation, instead of the recipient nation. It is time to relieve the aid donors of their burden. It is not a healthy set-up, it is bad for both the giver and the receiver.

Sixty years after independence, we should embrace and move to a Ghana beyond aid, indeed an Africa beyond aid. I’m not disclaiming aid and I certainly do not want to embark on any ideological part to inflict poverty on us. I will not sing to a refrain of “I am poor and proud”. There’s no pride or dignity in poverty. There’s no dignity in having hungry children or mothers dying in childbirth. There’s no dignity in drinking dirty or polluted water. I mention these in particular, because they happen to be the sectors usually populated by the aid agencies and NGOs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I suggest that no self- respecting nation abdicate these sectors to aid agencies or NGOs. We should set our mind to a deliberate qualitative change in all aspects of our lives especially on the structure of our economy, the nature of our infrastructure, the education of our young people and acquisition of skills. It is time to abandon the economic structure that was designed to serve us when we were a colony. We must add value to the many commodities that we export. We are embarking upon an ambitious programme in Ghana that we are calling the ‘’One District, One Fracture Initiative’’ which is to serve as the basis for the rapid industrialisation of our country and providing jobs for the many young unemployed. Youth and employment poses the biggest security threat to our country. When most of these factors get going, the main activity will be value addition and food processing. The initiative goes hand in hand with our determination to add value to our natural resources…

I will like to conclude with one important observation, Ghana and indeed Africa beyond aid is meant to be more than a slogan, it is meant to propel us into the frame of mind that will quicken our pace of development. It is meant to change our mindset from one of dependency and living on hand-outs to one of achieving our destiny. It is meant to put us in charge of our own affairs and make us truly independent. Above all, Ghana beyond aid will give us the respect and dignity we deserve.

If I have touched a few heart among you today to make you start thinking about Africa in a new light, then, maybe there’s some hope here.