AFRICA’S NEW MAP MUST BECOME AFRICA’S NEW REALITY By Raymond Enoch
Africa’s renewed global geographical recognition must go beyond correcting perceptions of the continent’s size and translate into a new development agenda anchored on economic sovereignty, inclusive prosperity, food security, industrialisation and sustainable development.
This was the position canvassed by Amb. Zainab Mohammed, Social Change Advocate, in a statement issued in Abuja, where she called on African Heads of State and Government, the African Union, policymakers, business leaders and other stakeholders to match the continent’s enormous geographical scale with equally ambitious economic and social transformation.
Mohammed said the renewed global conversation about the true geographical scale of Africa should not be regarded merely as a correction of the map, but as an opportunity to address the longstanding gap between Africa’s vast potential and the economic, social and institutional realities confronting millions of its people.
According to her, Africa is endowed with vast landmass, natural resources, a youthful population and extraordinary human potential, stressing that the continent’s ambition must now be as expansive as its geography.
“The new map must become a new development agenda,” she said, arguing that Africa’s geographical scale must translate into sustainable economic growth, food security, inclusive prosperity, industrialisation, technological advancement and greater African ownership of its development process.
She challenged African leaders to move beyond the question of how large Africa is to confronting the more consequential question of how the continent can convert its enormous scale and resources into improved quality of life for more than a billion people, particularly young people, women and communities whose natural resources continue to support global economic activity.
Mohammed identified food security as a critical pillar of African sovereignty, arguing that no nation or continent can achieve lasting prosperity while remaining excessively vulnerable to external food supplies.
She said Africa possesses enormous agricultural potential which must be transformed into resilient food systems through sustained investment in farmers, irrigation, storage, transportation, technology, research, financing and regional markets.
“Food security must no longer be treated solely as an agricultural issue. It is a matter of national security, economic stability and human dignity,” she stated.
She called for an Africa that would not only feed itself but emerge as one of the world’s leading food-producing and agro-industrial regions.
The Social Change Advocate also challenged African countries to move away from an economic model largely dependent on the export of raw materials and the importation of finished products.
She said the continent’s minerals, energy resources, agricultural commodities and other natural assets should increasingly serve as the foundation for African industries, businesses, jobs and technological capabilities.
“Africa must move from extraction to value creation; from commodities to manufacturing; from consumption to production; and from dependency to productive partnership,” she said.
Mohammed, however, stressed that economic sovereignty should not be interpreted as isolation from international investment.
Rather, she advocated partnerships capable of delivering local value addition, technology transfer, skills development, employment, environmental protection and sustainable economic benefits to African societies.
“Africa should welcome the world — but increasingly on the basis of mutual value and mutual respect,” she added.
Mohammed further called for sustainability to remain at the centre of Africa’s development strategy, warning against replicating models that have depleted natural resources and damaged the environment in other parts of the world.
She advocated greater investment in renewable energy, climate-resilient agriculture, sustainable cities, responsible mining, clean technology and infrastructure designed to serve present and future generations.
“Development must improve lives today without compromising the rights and opportunities of tomorrow’s Africans,” she said.
Mohammed described Africa’s youthful population as one of the continent’s greatest strategic assets, stressing that its potential can only be realised through access to quality education, digital skills, entrepreneurship, decent employment, finance and meaningful participation in economic and public life.
She said young Africans should no longer be viewed primarily as beneficiaries of development programmes but as active participants and co-creators of the continent’s future.
According to her, the Africa of tomorrow will be shaped by young scientists, engineers, farmers, entrepreneurs, technology innovators, artists, professionals and public servants equipped to solve African problems while competing effectively in the global economy.
She also called for women to be placed at the heart of Africa’s development strategy, arguing that no sustainable development agenda can succeed while a significant proportion of the continent’s human capital remains underutilised.
Mohammed noted that women already play critical roles in agriculture, families, communities, entrepreneurship and national economies, but require greater access to capital, land, education, technology, markets, leadership opportunities and decision-making.
“An Africa that fully unleashes the economic potential of its women will be a stronger and more prosperous Africa,” she said.
Mohammed urged African leaders to ensure that the continent’s natural resources do not become instruments of a new cycle of dependency.
She maintained that Africa was not seeking isolation from the global economy but a fairer and more balanced position within it.
“Our natural resources should become instruments of transformation — not permanent channels through which African wealth is exported while African communities remain excluded from the greatest value created from that wealth,” she said.
She called for vigilance against economic relationships that could reproduce patterns of dependency and unequal value chains, including arrangements that critics may characterise as a form of resource-driven re-colonisation.
However, she stressed that the response should not be hostility towards international partners but the deliberate strengthening of African capacity.
“Capacity to negotiate. Capacity to govern. Capacity to process. Capacity to manufacture. Capacity to innovate. Capacity to finance our development,” she said.
She added that Africa must also develop the capacity to ensure that “the wealth beneath African soil creates prosperity above it.”
Mohammed said African leaders have an historic responsibility to transform the renewed recognition of Africa’s geographical scale into a broader recognition of its economic, human and strategic potential.
She called for economies that create value, food systems that protect communities, industries that provide opportunities for young people, policies that empower women, institutions that command public trust and technologies that directly serve Africa’s development priorities.
She also advocated international partnerships founded on equality, transparency, shared value and mutual respect.
“Africa does not need to ask the world to make Africa great. Africa must build the capacity to make its own potential real,” she said.
Mohammed maintained that correcting the map should only be the beginning of a much larger transformation.
“Let geographic scale become economic scale. Let natural wealth become human wealth. Let agricultural potential become food security. Let our youth become engines of innovation. Let women become full partners in economic transformation. Let sustainable development become the foundation of growth. And let African resources become the foundation of African prosperity.”
She said the ultimate measure of Africa’s size would not be found solely on a map, but in the prosperity of its people, the strength of its institutions, the opportunities available to its youth and women, the food security of its communities, the sustainability of its development and the continent’s capacity to determine the value and destiny of its own resources.
“Africa’s map may be changing. Now, Africa’s reality must change with it,” she declared.
