President Bola Tinubu has advocated for peace to bring about progress in Africa, News About Nigeria reports.
He made this call while speaking at a dinner organised in his honour by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.
He noted that without peace, progress will be impossible for development in Africa, adding that peace, stability, and democracy are the keys to Africa’s progress and development.
He made a call to Africans to take charge of solving its own problems and reject external expectations of conflict and instability.
President Tinubu also appealed to international organisations to invest more in African research and development.
“We have to work together to make peace the focus of our development in order to really develop. Without peace, you cannot develop.
“Our problem is not that we don’t know what to do; we identify them and understand what to do; our problem is how and when we should do them, and I say the time is now.
“We better roll our sleeves, put on our nickers and move for peace, stability and progress
“Why are we complaining about healthcare problems if our doctors cannot have a home in their continent, if our nurses are faced with destitution, if our judicial system is archaic, if tribe is the hero in the middle of nothing?
“Tribalism has no place in Africa, we have to take the continent and take it strongly and… it together, help one another, develop our resources for our progress, find solutions among ourselves, dwell on research and development, reward those research and development programmes, bring out the results, and don’t sell it out.
“To the international organisations, we say thank you; we are partners; we’ll continue to partner, but put more than half of the results of research and development here in the continent, we have a lot of youths to cater for, millions of them yearning for progress,” he said.
The President also highlighted the need for collective action to address conflicts in regions such as the Congo Republic and the Sahel.
“Our gathering here today is a significant milestone in the history of Africa, and particularly West Africa, between Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.
“I am very happy to have listened to the very deep thinking coming from my brother, the President of Equatorial Guinea, on Africa.
“Yes, it is Africa that must solve its own problems. They want Africa wretched and raggedy, full of conflicts, antagonism, but we’re saying no. Peace, stability and democracy are the way forward for progressive development, and we agreed on that.
“We definitely will continue to promote peace and stability throughout the continent.
“Some of our brothers in shackles are still there at each other’s throats. We must work together and do everything possible to promote peace between them.
“What we are seeing in the middle of the region, Congo Republic and other areas of the Sahel is not pleasant for our today and promising for our tomorrow,” he stated.
