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Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Thursday, said Nigeria and the African continent are at the World Economic Forum 2024 not to beg but to negotiate with the West on an equal plane as the continent is “the richest in the world.”
Shettima, who spoke on Arise News on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said, “We are not a poor nation by any standard, we’re not a poor continent. We want to deal with people on a pedestal of equality. We do not come to the West with a begging bowl, no. We want to deal with them on mutually beneficial terms because ours is the richest continent in the world.
“The whole countries of Europe, their resources are not up to the resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is why I said we carry our poverty with dignity.”
At the African Economy of Scale Plenary on the sidelines of the WEF, the VP implored African leaders to work towards ramping up the total $3.1tn Gross Domestic Product of countries on the continent, amounting to a paltry three per cent of the overall global GDP.
He regretted that African trade was still hovering around three per cent of world trade, saying, “The total Gross Domestic Product of African countries taken together is barely $3.1tn, which is less than 3 per cent of world GDP. African trade still hovers at 3 per cent of world trade. These indices must be reversed and ramped up. I believe this is one of the key concerns of Africa’s Economy of Scale.”
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed on Thursday titled, ‘At World Economic Forum: VP Shettima urges African leaders to ramp up 3% of continent’s global GDP.’
He said, “It must be borne in mind that African economies are still largely primary and basic in nature, with considerable dependencies on the global economy.
“Most countries on our continent are still known for their export of raw materials, minerals and food crops.
“African economies understand that we must begin to add value to primary products like cash crops and step up to secondary and tertiary product manufacturing
In his brief remark at the event held at Kurpark Village, Davos-Klosters, Shettima noted that it is, for this reason, that Africa is considered by top analysts the world over as a growth economy in dire need of investments and infrastructure.
He urged them to run faster and purposefully to catch up with the rest of the world in eradicating crass poverty on the continent and prove that the continent could be a significant contributor to world productivity that can “integrate better with the rest of the world in an age when Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are redefining human interactions and existence.”
The Vice President noted that while the African trade agreement is projected to boost the continent’s GDP by $450bn in the next decade, the urgency to actualise an African economy of scale is the reason behind the continent’s trade cooperation as demonstrated by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
Shettima observed that the challenges dogging Africa’s face are not drawbacks, but opportunities for engagement, productivity and profitability, even as he pegged the continent’s infrastructure deficit at trillions of US Dollars.
Highlighting some of the deficit, he said, “51 new housing units have to be built in the very minimum. We need schools, stadia, community centres, roads, rail networks, airports and water transport, technology enablement and major interventions in the energy sector, among others.
“Viewed from space, Africa still presents as the darkest continent. This narrative can be changed by a combination of efforts and deep collaborations among ourselves and the global community. I agree, though, that the greater challenge is within ourselves.”
Therefore, the concept of Africa’s Economy of Scale is a wake-up call to all to embrace a major leap of faith away from the usual sordid monikers with which Africa has been identified, as a people and as a continent, he emphasized.
Shettima further acknowledged the efforts made by African youths in repositioning the continent, saying they “have created major tech-driven private-sector organizations, some of which are unicorns – with over $1bn in terms of capitalisation.
He said the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System is a product of the technological prowess of “our young professionals, working within the larger organisational structure.”
“There has also been a major push in the outsourcing industry for African youths to show more relevance by targeting remote work all over the world. The terrain is being redefined,” he added.
