UNGA: You Can’t Have Democracy In Africa When People Are Starving – Tinubu Tells S’African President

Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu gave a negative prognosis of state of things in Africa on Monday when he told his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, that poverty of ideas and starvation continue to imperil a prospect of sound democracy in the continent.

A statement by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale said Tinubu made the submission during a bilateral meeting with Ramaphosa ahead of the UN General Assembly gathering.

Tinubu was emphasising increasing calls for leaders to deepen democracy in the face of renewed coups across the continent.

Coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger Republic and recently Gabon have rattled the continent with frantic search to curtail its likely domino effects in what has been linked to mass uprising and revolt against failed leadership, ethnic crises, poverty and lack of transparent, free and fair election.

Nigeria and South Africa are the two leading economic giants of the continent. Tinubu used this position to remind Ramaphosa of how far the continent has emerged from the rubbles of colonialism.

He argued that European experience must be different from Africa’s emphasising that his approach is economic development diplomatic drive for investment attraction.

He said, “During the end of the Second World War, the Marshall Plan was established for the reconstruction and economic restoration of European nations through Bretton Woods institutions.

“Where has this presence been for Africa? We have to be careful not to replace the broken shackle of yesterday with a new set of shackles.

“You cannot have a stable democracy in the presence of a poverty of knowledge and a starvation of people.

“Democracy without food on the table is a breeding ground for what will consume us, if care is not taken.

“We must join hands and agree that international finance institutions require reform as Africa is not to be a ground for economic scavenging any longer, but it is a place with gifted people that is ready for investment and cooperation.

“We have all the human and natural resources required between our nations.

“We can collaborate in a mutually beneficial way that enriches our populations.

“South African mining industries have a role to play in the Nigerian solid minerals development sector.

“Your business community has done well in Nigerian Telecommunications.

“We have great mineral wealth across our land, and you have good expertise in this area.

““We expect to deliver jobs and mutually beneficial results in this area as brother and sister countries,” the Nigerian president told Ramaphosa.

On his part, Ramaphosa said, “We are two major economies on our continent, and it is important that we deepen economic ties, particularly in light of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. We are very keen on the deepening of our economic relations.

“We would love to see Nigeria and South Africa working closely together on a number of issues because whenever we join hands, we have made an impact globally through those joint positions. Together, we can move the global south forward.”