Former President Olusegun Obasanjo urged African nations to unite and strengthen pan-African economic ties during an event in Lagos on Tuesday.
The occasion marked Angola’s National Founder and Hero’s Day 2024, an annual celebration held on September 17 to honour the legacy of Angola’s first President, Agostinho Neto, who declared the country’s independence on November 11, 1975.
The event, themed “Pan-Africanism in the Political Course by Agostinho Neto,” was organised by the Embassy of Angola in Nigeria. Neto, who served as Angola’s president from 1975 to 1979, passed away in Moscow at the age of 56.
In his speech, Obasanjo emphasised the importance of remembering the sacrifices made by past African leaders and noted the need to focus on economic cooperation within the continent.
“We have made progress in achieving political and cultural pan-Africanism, but now we must prioritise Africa’s economic liberation,” he said. He pointed to the African Continental Free Trade Agreements (AfCFTA) as a positive step towards economic integration but stressed that more attention is needed.
Reflecting on the formation of the African Union (AU) from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), where economic cooperation was a focal point, Obasanjo underscored the significance of stronger economic partnerships for Africa’s development.
“We have long struggled for Africa’s economic emancipation, but progress has been slow. We must ask ourselves, why did the slave trade happen? It was because certain nations sought energy and wealth for their new world,” he explained, adding that slavery was replaced by colonialism and exploitation, further stalling Africa’s economic power.