By Dr. Nafisat Makinde
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, has urged African leaders to move beyond reliance on foreign aid and embrace home-grown innovations to unlock the continent’s vast potential.
Delivering the keynote address at the 2025 Innovate Africa Conference at the ECOWAS Conference Hall in Abuja, Wike said, “Development cannot be donated; it must be built. No nation or continent has ever achieved greatness through the benevolence of others.” He warned against “poisonous philanthropy” and called for “genuine opportunities” rooted in African ideas and ingenuity.
Highlighting Africa’s demographic advantage, Wike noted, “Seventy per cent of Africa’s population is under 30 a revolution waiting to happen. With 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP exceeding $3 trillion, Africa is no longer a peripheral actor in the global economy.” He urged strategic investment in infrastructure and human capital to fully leverage this youth dividend.
The Minister applauded the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a modern reawakening of the Pan-African vision. “Through regional integration, Africa can finally replace aid with trade, and dependency with dignity,” he said, stressing that the continent must lead its own economic transformation.
Wike also praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership, citing the removal of the fuel subsidy as an example of transformational governance. “While previous administrations acknowledged its dangers, none dared to act. Tinubu did,” he said, adding that ongoing infrastructural renewal in the FCT reflects what is possible when political will is applied.
Conferred with the Innovate Africa Leadership Award 2025, Wike dedicated the honour to President Tinubu and the resilient people of Nigeria, urging synergy between leadership and followership to accelerate Africa’s development.
