TheCable

Kayode Fayemi, former governor of Ekiti, has asked African leaders to end the continent’s dependence on foreign aid to address developmental challenges.

Fayemi spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at the annual lecture of the Society for International Relations Awareness (SIRA).

The former governor who was the guest speaker spoke on “Africa in the turbulence of a world in search of direction”, which was the theme of the event.

SIRA is a non-profit organisation founded in September 2010 to create awareness about international relations in Nigeria and Africa.

Fayemi said it is “demeaning” that African leaders are still being summoned to the capitals of foreign nations to beg for aid.

He added that the continent needs strong visionary leadership for Africa to “find its place in the turbulence of the current global order”.

’This is where visionary leadership must come in — to help in a forward-looking way; to develop a strategic, coordinated, coherent, and shared African approach to managing the turbulence in the international system,” Fayemi was quoted in a statement by Ahmad Sajoh, his media aide.

“To rise to the challenge of the times, Africa must organise itself to develop and deploy the necessary strategic plans, policy packages and leadership resources that are fit for the era of rapid and complex change.

“It is this task of policy and leadership advancement that must be addressed as an urgent necessity if Africa is to play its rightful role in the ongoing dynamic of change in global order.”

The former governor called on African leaders to ensure that Africans are not made “casualties and cannon fodder” as various interests compete for advantage in the world.

He added that the hard-won sovereignty of African countries must not be compromised.