- Tinubu Calls for Unified Development Strategy at West Africa Economic Summit
- Tinubu emphasizes that time has come to move beyond promises and focus on real implementation.
- He encouraged regional nations to stop working in silos or relying heavily on external actors
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged leaders across West Africa to embrace a cohesive and collaborative approach to regional development, cautioning that disjointed economic policies and untapped trade opportunities are hindering the sub-region’s progress.
Eko Hot Blog reports that speaking at the launch of the first West Africa Economic Summit in Abuja on Saturday, Tinubu who chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, emphasized that the time has come to move beyond promises and focus on real implementation.
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He stressed that meaningful economic transformation requires joint efforts in infrastructure development, policy alignment, and investment planning.
“Intra-regional trade is still below 10 percent,” Tinubu observed. “This isn’t due to a lack of will, but a failure in coordination. The global economy will not pause for West Africa to catch up—we must act now.”
He encouraged regional nations to stop working in silos or relying heavily on external actors. Instead, he advocated for greater investment in cross-border infrastructure and value chains.
“Competing separately or depending on outsiders won’t serve us. We need to enhance regional cooperation, improve infrastructure, and align our policies,” he said.
Tinubu pointed to the region’s youthful population as its most valuable resource, but warned that without strong investment in education, innovation, and digital infrastructure, that potential could turn into a challenge.
While noting Nigeria’s strides in skill development and digital connectivity, he insisted that efforts must be collective. “Our future prosperity hinges on building interconnected supply chains, power systems, and data networks. If we don’t build them together, they will fail individually,” he said.
Highlighting projects like the Lagos-Abidjan Highway and the West African Power Pool as proof of successful collaboration, Tinubu called for broader and deeper efforts. “It’s time to move from policy statements to actionable projects and real investments,” he urged.
Addressing Africa’s place in global industry, Tinubu noted the continent’s past absence from key industrial revolutions and pushed for a shift in how natural resources are managed.
“It’s not enough to have raw materials—we must develop smart value chains, invest in processing, and build regional industries. The outdated model of exporting raw materials must stop,” he declared.
He emphasized that governments alone cannot achieve economic transformation, highlighting the importance of creating policy environments that attract and support private sector investment. “Governments must offer security, law, and market-friendly policies while the private sector drives the engine of growth,” he said.
Tinubu concluded by calling for tangible outcomes from the summit, including smoother business operations, stronger intra-regional trade, and strategies to combat poverty.
“Let’s shape a West Africa that is attractive for investment, globally competitive, and resilient—guided by vision, unity, and accountability,” he said.
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