Africa’s Leadership, Investment Framework Needs A Rethink – FCT Minister Says, Calls for Courageous Decisions

Africa’s leadership and investment framework needs a fundamental reimagination to extricate it from over dependence on the developed world economically and otherwise, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has said.

Wike said this on Thursday, October 23, 2025 while delivering the keynote address at the 2025 Innovate Africa Conference in Abuja.

The FCT Minister, who was conferred with the Innovate Africa Leadership Award 2025 at the event, warned that the continent’s future depends on the courage of its leaders to act decisively and invest strategically in its people and infrastructure.

The former Rivers State Governor described the honour as a tribute to the “resilient people of Nigeria” and to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whom he credited for providing “the bold vision for renewal” that has redefined governance and infrastructural transformation in Abuja.

“This honour belongs not to me alone, but to the resilient people of Nigeria, and especially to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose bold vision for renewal has given me the platform to contribute to our nation’s transformation,” Wike said.

He thanked Innovate Africa Corporation for recognizing leadership grounded in accountability and purpose, noting that such recognition “serves as a soothing balm in an age where leadership is often viewed through partisan lenses.”

Reflecting on the state of the continent, Wike said Africa stands “at a historic crossroads,” rich in natural resources and youthful energy but weighed down by weak institutions, unemployment, and leadership failures.

“This is the paradox of our age: how can a continent so richly blessed remain so constrained? How can such abundance coexist with scarcity, such youthful energy be stifled by joblessness?” he queried.

According to him, leadership remains the decisive factor shaping Africa’s destiny.

“When leadership is visionary, accountable, and courageous, even the most daunting obstacles can be transformed into opportunities,” he said.

He lamented Africa’s continued dependence on the export of raw materials and importation of finished goods, describing the trend as “unhealthy and unsustainable for development.”