Over the last week, IMF and World Bank leaders have been meeting in Washington. I would have loved it if President Tinubu had been there to present an African economic blueprint to them

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Over the last week, Europe and the US have been discussing Africa in Washington DC. They have at least identified the fact that sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 80% of extreme poverty globally

[2] Given this reality, I am perplexed as to why they did not immediately resolve to write off all sub-Saharan Africa’s debt

[3] At the moment, what we have are the IMF and World Bank handing out loans, some creditors offering temporary debt relief, looted funds being returned and China suspending repayments for now. All these measures are just Band Aid solutions and wholly inadequate because in five years time, we will be have a heavily indebted continent that will be unable to repay all these loans

[4] More importantly, Africa as a continent remains locked in a poverty trap as all she does is export primary raw materials for cheap and then use the proceeds to import finished goods at 500% mark-up. This economic model is simply not sustainable. Why did the IMF/World Bank not ban the importation of raw materials from Africa?

[5] In America, it has been estimated that the value of reparations for slavery could be as much as $17trn. If we use this as a template, a $17trn industrialisation plan will get Africa off her knees and make the continent a genuine player in the global economy rather than just a source of raw materials

[6] At the moment, Africa only accounts for 2.4% of world trade despite accounting for about 18% of the global population. By 2050, it is estimated that Africa will account for about 50% of the world’s population, so unless drastic action is taken fast, a time bomb 10 times for toxic than coronavirus is set to explode

[7] I know many of our African leaders are just crooks and criminals so handing them $17trn will be suicidal. What I want to see is that $17trn invested in manufacturing, port facilities, power plants, food processing, railway networks, medical equipment making, shipyards, aviation factories, etc

[8] What we need is for Africa’s presidents to meet and put together an ambitious African Development Plan. This should call for the investment of $17trn over the next five years. A skills, capital and technology transfer programme is what is needed to end Africa’s status as an eternal buyer and a global dumping ground

[9] For too long, Africa has been the footmat of the rest of the world. Africa’s total GDP is only $2.5trn compared with $2.7trn in France, $2.8trn in the UK and $2.94trn in India. It is totally impossible to sustain 55 nations on $2.5trn, so as first step, I believe we have to halve the number of Africa’s nation states through a series of mergers and amalgamations

[10] I did not see any economic blueprint from the Washington meeting. It falls on the Nigerian president to present an African roadmap to the powers-that-be

ayoakinfe@gmail.com