Wike Asks Tinubu, Other Leaders To End Dependency On Foreign Aids
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has urged President Bola Tinubu and other African leaders to abandon the continent’s overreliance on foreign aid.
Wike urged African leaders to embrace visionary, accountable, and people-centered governance that will unlock Africa’s vast potential for self-sustaining development.
He stated this on Thursday in Abuja while delivering a stirring keynote address at the 2025 Innovate Africa Conference.
He declared that Africa’s transformation will not come from donor-driven interventions but from indigenous innovation, bold leadership, and productive investment in infrastructure, youth, and human capital.
Speaking on the theme, “Reimagining Africa’s Leadership and Investment,” the FCT Minister said it was time for the continent to “rise beyond the rhetoric of aid and dependency” and chart a new course of economic sovereignty built on courage, vision, and collaboration.
“Foreign aid, once embraced as a bridge to development, has too often become a crutch that weakens resolve and distorts priorities. Development cannot be donated; it must be built. Africa must now be defined not by grants and conditionalities, but by ideas, innovation, and indigenous strength”, Wike declared.
The former Rivers State governor called for urgent, collective action to redefine Africa’s narrative from one of dependency to one of dignity and self-determination.
He said; “Africa’s future will not be given to us. We must build it. And we must build it now. The question is not whether Africa can rise, but whether we possess the courage to lead, the wisdom to invest, and the will to unite.
“The future of global prosperity will be written here on African soil, by African hands, and for the glory of Africa and all humanity”, he stated.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
