Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, has said he prays daily for Nigeria’s stability, emphasising the country’s critical role in West Africa’s security and prosperity while calling for a broader reset in how African nations manage their economies and natural resources.
Speaking at the African Heritage Awards in Accra, Ghana, recently, Mr Mahama said that Nigeria’s trajectory was central not only to Ghana’s well-being but also to the wider region, even as he urged African leaders to rethink development strategies in the face of shifting global dynamics.
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“We need to make a paradigm shift in how we have considered investments, how we have considered our natural resources, and everything in Africa,” he said. “The world is changing, the global order is changing, and we must adapt to the changes.”
Post-World War II international system
The Ghanaian president highlighted the post-World War II international system, noting that earlier commitments to multilateral cooperation and shared prosperity are weakening amid declining aid flows and rising defence priorities among advanced economies.
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“After the Second World War, we all agreed that we must have a multilateral system, each was his brother’s keeper,” he said. “After the arms race came to an end, we said there was going to be a dividend, a nuclear dividend, which would make sure that everybody on this earth enjoys a decent standard of living. Clearly, things are shifting from what we anticipated.
“Humanitarian assistance is dwindling. Countries are reducing their ODA and using it more for defence purposes and all that. Africa cannot sit with a cup in hand and beg.”
Africa and the wider world
Mr Mahama said the continent must instead leverage its vast natural endowments to drive inclusive growth, criticising a long-standing model that leaves resource-rich communities impoverished.
“One of the major assets we have is what nature gave us. We didn’t put gold, lithium, or oil and gas in the ground. God gave it to us,” he said. “Those days of huge concessions given to foreign companies and setting up huge, rich enclaves next to African poverty, where there is no clean drinking water, those days are coming to an end.
“We must take advantage of what God has gifted us to make sure that we can create prosperity for our people, and we can do it. We started with the African Continental Free Trade Area.”
Twin of the same mother
Highlighting regional ties, Mr Mahama described Ghana and Nigeria as closely linked by history and migration, noting that developments in Africa’s most populous nation inevitably reverberate across neighbouring countries.
“Of course, Ghana and Nigeria are twins of the same mother, except that we fight over jollof and football. Otherwise, you know that we are the same people. A lot of people in Ghana migrated from Nigeria,” he said.
“Nigeria is a keen security interest to us. If Nigeria does well, Ghana does well. I mean, when you have cousins, 250 million of them, you want them to do well, so that one million of them don’t come drifting towards a small country like Ghana.”
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Prayer
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and one of its largest economies, plays a dominant role in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), influencing trade flows, security cooperation and migration trends across the region.
Mr Mahama, a former chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, highlighted concerns over the potential spillover effects of Nigeria’s internal challenges, particularly on smaller economies.
“So every day I wake up, I pray for Nigeria. I say, ‘God, let Nigeria get their act together.”
He added that Africa’s future ultimately depends on leadership and collective resolve, expressing confidence that the continent has the human capital to transform its fortunes if properly harnessed.
“We continue to fight and represent our countries. We want to show that leadership can make a change,” he said. “Because I believe if we get proper leadership in Africa and we work together, we have some of the best brains, we have wonderful people, we would be able to make a change in the lives of our people.”
