Sept. 20, 2023

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday says broken promises, unfair treatment and outright exploitation from abroad have exacted a heavy toll on Africa’s ability to progress.

Tinubu said this in his inaugural statement to the 78th session of the General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York.

According to him, many proclamations have been made, “yet our troubles remain close at hand”.

The President who called on the rest of the world to walk with Africa as true friends and partners, noted that the continent is not a problem to be avoided nor is it to be pitied, but is nothing less than the key to the world’s future.

“Given this long history, if this year’s theme is to mean anything at all, it must mean something special and particular to Africa.

“Today and for several decades, Africa has been asking for the same level of political commitment and devotion of resource that described the Marshall Plan.

“We realise that underlying conditions and causes of the economic challenges facing today’s Africa are significantly different from those of post war Europe.

“We are not asking for identical programs and actions. What we seek is an equally firm commitment to partnership. We seek enhanced international cooperation with African nations to achieve the 2030 agenda and Sustainable Development Goals.

“If this year’s theme is to have any impact at all, global institutions, other nations and their private sector actors must see African development as a priority, not just for Africa but in their interests as well.

He added that Africa seeks to be neither appendage nor patron. “We do not wish to replace old shackles with new ones.

“Instead, we hope to walk the rich African soil and live under the magnificent African sky free of the wrongs of the past and clear of their associated encumbrances. We desire a prosperous, vibrant democratic living space for our people”.