President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for the deepening of regional economic communities to drive integration and trade ties among African nations to strengthen democracy and accelerate development across the continent.
Tinubu made the call during the Summit on the State of Democracy in Africa on Wednesday in Abuja, seeking the revitalisation of sub-regional blocs like the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, East African Community, EAC, and Southern African Development Community, SADC, as vehicles to usher in an era of robust intra-African commerce, economic growth and job creation.
According to the president, through bitter experience, Nigeria has learned that the solution to poor democratic governance is to have more democracy.
Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said: “The immense potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, can only be maximally realised when there is concrete economic integration and collaboration at the different sub-regional levels.”
While delivering the keynote address, President Tinubu charged the regional bodies to prioritise minimising trade barriers, promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and human capital development, as well as value addition in agriculture and agro-allied sectors.
“We must deliberate on ways through which African sub-regional organisations can help foster better intra-African trade, achieve better food and energy security, promote higher rates of youth employment, alleviate poverty and realise greater prosperity for our people,” he said.
Tinubu explained that reinvigorated sub-regional cooperation is critical to the successful implementation of the path-breaking AfCFTA by harmonising rules and regulations to facilitate the free movement of goods, services and people.
While acknowledging the “despair about democratic reversals” due to recent military coups, he expressed optimism about polls held successfully in nations like Liberia, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria.
He said: “The tragedies of our nations and histories inspire our concern about the reversals of democratic governments, particularly in West Africa. That’s why we are alarmed by the military coups in Mali, Guinea Conakry, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, and Gabon.”
The president, however, advocated discussions on empowering regional blocs to establish well-funded standby military forces “to help contain military adventurers and the rampaging waves of terrorism and religious extremism.”
President Tinubu urged African leaders to respect constitutional tenets like term limits and ensure credible elections and autonomous institutions through the African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, to achieve democratic consolidation.
“This summit must discuss ways of making the APRM contribute to achieving good governance and democratic consolidation on the continent,” he stated.
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.
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