Chinedum Elekwachi
The 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has called on African nations to urgently invest in their human capital.
He also urged them to scale up productivity as a strategy to mitigate impact of potential trade disruptions under a second Trump presidency in the United States.
Obi made the call at the Plenary Session of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) Trade and Investment Summit 2025 in London.
The theme of the summit is “Africa’s Role in the New Global Economy”.
According to Obi, Africa’s pathway to relevance and resilience in the evolving global economy lies in harnessing its youthful population and vast resources.
Reflecting on recent global economic shifts, Obi noted that interventions by U.S. President Donald Trump had already disrupted long-standing assumptions of global trade.
Africa not proactive
He regretted that while many nations were now adopting protective measures to safeguard their economies, African countries have largely failed to respond proactively.
“Despite vast opportunities, Africa’s share of global trade remains at a paltry 2-3%, with GDP share of about 3%,”.
“Africa’s GDP per capita stands at just $1,900, compared to about $9,000 in Asia,” Obi said quoting data from World Trade Organization.
“This stagnation persists though Africa is the second-largest and most populous continent, with about 1.5 billion people and world’s largest concentration of working-age population.”
Obi said the continent boasts of abundant natural resources, nearly a billion hectares of uncultivated arable land and over 30% of the world’s mineral reserves.
“Africa holds over 60% of the world’s arable land. Our food and agriculture market is currently valued at $280 billion annually.
“It is projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2030. Yet, these assets remain under-utilized,” he regretted.
Obi said with agriculture at the core of Africa’s economic transformation, Africa can emerge as a global agricultural powerhouse and a net exporter of food.
Former Anambra state governor said the potential can be realized with quality leadership that prioritizes productivity and value creation.
He called for a transformative shift in governance to embrace innovative education, healthcare investment, and poverty reduction.
Obi noted, “What is missing is leadership that can reorder priorities and scale up productivity so that African countries can move into higher levels of value creation,”
“We have seen promising signs in better-governed African countries. The challenge remains scaling up and sustaining this across the region.”
Obi’s timely advice
Obi urged African leaders to emulate Asia’s developmental state model, which prioritized human capital and productivity over mere institutional imports from Western economies.
He advocated for bold, visionary leadership to steer Africa toward economic self-reliance and global competitiveness.
“This is a junction for transformative change. Africa must rebuild its economies through leadership that focuses on rapid upgrades in productive capacities.
Obi said education and healthcare sectors would assist to lift millions out of poverty and seize the opportunities of the new global economy.
The event underscored Africa’s pivotal role in shaping the future of global trade amid shifting geopolitical dynamics.
It attracted global policymakers, investors and thought leaders,
