United Bank for Africa (UBA) has marked this year’s Africa Day with a symposium where the continent’s leading minds called on Africans to be mindful of their rich history, be hardworking and united to achieve desired economic goals. Pundits used the opportunity to call on Africans to forge a path towards socio-cultural, economic and political development. It was also an opportunity to reawaken the power of unity, entrepreneurship and wealth creation among Africans. COLLINS NWEZE, reports.
The past, present and future of Africa and its economies will make interesting reading any day. And the high point of the narrative is that Africa’s over 500 years of suffering and devastating economic tides should not interfere with the great future that lies ahead of it.
This may have made participants at a symposium held to mark this year’s Africa Day to believe that economic aids will not unleash Africa’s potential, but private-sector development, trade and investment will do the magic.
“They realised that it will require hardwork, commitment and unity for the continent to rise and dominate global economies,” one of the participants, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, said at the event organised by the lender in Lagos.
At the event were great African minds and accomplished personalities. Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka; Prof. Djibril Tamsir Niane; Ghanaian politician and Chairman of Ghana’s Convention People’s Party, Samia Nkrumah and famous musician, Femi Kuti, spoke at the first edition of UBA’s Africa Conversations.
The theme of the symposium was “Africa’s History Redefined, Our Past, the Path to the Future”.
Elumelu said: “UBA understands the past- that Africa as a continent has always been united by the struggle for identity. UBA is a symbol for the development of Africa, for the economic empowerment of our people, the Small and Medium Enterprises as well as the big corporations. Thus, identifying with Africa and indeed, Africa Day, is synonymous with who we are as a bank.”
He continued: “It presents us the opportunity to remind ourselves, the world and indeed, Africa that we owe ourselves the duty of making Africa the continent of our dreams,”adding that it is important for Africans to remember history, as this will help prepare them for the future. “Our past provides a veritable tool to fashioning the continent’s development, renaissance and economic growth,” he emphasised.
Africa, Elumelu said, is richly endowed and should harness all the potential that make the economy really great. He added that he wanted to see banks, telecommunication firms, manufacturing and other sectors starting from Africa and conquering the world.
“We see MTN, Dangote Group, United Bank for Africa (UBA), all trying to make history. UBA started in Nigeria, but today, we in in more than 20 African countries. We need to encourage the younger generation through history and the fact that hard work pays. We want people with capital to invest in Africa. We also need African governments to create enabling environment for private sector to thrive,” Elumelu said.
Prof Soyinka, who spoke strongly on the issue, commended UBA’s initiative for opening up discussions on these pressing topics. He decried the growing erosion of history from the curriculum in African schools. He added that lack of knowledge of our past has truncated children’s growth on the continent. “How can we cope with the modern phenomenon if we do not know the past? We should never forget the importance of history as it is not just an academic exercise,” he enthused.
Corroborating, Prof Niane opined that reminiscing on Africa’s rich history is important as there are no people without history. “A lot of work has been done by Africans and we have to be happy about it. There is the need to continue the conversation about African unity. Policies have been put in place and our democracy can only get stronger. Peace will reign and Africa will be reunited. Economic transformation is also important, but it is not the only thing we should concentrate on.”
Samia, a daughter of the late Ghanaian President, Kwame Nkrumah, commended UBA for prioritising African entrepreneurship and called for renewed attempt at African unity, which has to be by collective effort of the people.
Femi Kuti emphasised the importance of history, saying: “Our children need to learn this history so that they can come up and build the continent. We need everyone, both boys and girls, to work towards this vision.”
Also speaking, Prof. Djibril Tamsir, who came from Guinea, said Africa should be united despite language differences. He said Africa should focus on leadership, which benefits the populace.
The UBA Conversations, an initiative of the Pan African financial institution, aims at aggregating discussions necessary for the growth and development of the continent. It is being held as part of the activities to mark the 2019 edition of Africa Day celebrations by the bank.
With its presence in 20 African countries as well as in the United States (US), France and the United Kingdom (UK), UBA’s passion for Africa’s growth is part of who they are.
The bank is set to continue conversations around these important topics that are required to galvanise the African economy with the aim of attracting much needed support that will boost SMEs and support business growth on the continent.
Africa in perspective
It is estimated that 75 per cent of Africa’s population of nearly 1.3 billion are under the age of 35, with a median age of just 19.4. Nearly half of Africa’s population are under the age of 15 and the incredible statistics do not stop there. By 2050, the continent’s 18 to 35 demographic is projected to reach more than 800 million.
Unfortunately, Africa remains the poorest continent on the planet. Only two countries in Africa have a per capita income of more than $10,000, while the majority are under $1,000. Most families subsist on less than $2 a day, meaning that about 250 million go to bed underfed every day.
Fortunately, there are viable solutions that can tap into this growing potential, harnessing it to generate explosive economic growth. It is estimated that Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could reach $29 trillion by 2050, a massive leap from the current $7trillion. To achieve that, African economies will need to sustainably grow by more than five per cent every year. The World Bank expects them to grow by three per cent this year, which is a positive sign, but still well below the rate needed to reach that 2050 milestone.
To accelerate economic growth, Africa will need to rely on its massive labour pool, as well as its wealth of resources. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that by 2035, Africa’s working-age population will exceed that of the rest of the world combined. As for resources, the continent has 65 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land.
Speakers at the forum also urged African countries to address the lack of strong, independent judiciaries. It may seem unrelated, but in matters of investment and the movement of capital, contracts are extremely important, as are the mechanisms that enforce them. It is impossible to generate sustained economic growth without the rule of law — a key factor that affects foreign direct investment inflows.
The participants at the event also agreed that digital transformations are crucial to sustainably transform informal-sector enterprises into regulated formal-sector entities.
Africa’s informal sectors are the continent’s largest employer, even though participants do not contribute to public revenues. Governments have attempted to focus on punitive and regulatory measures to “force” formalisation or disrupt informal-sector activity completely.
Diaspora remittances
Diaspora remittances to Nigeria stood at $24.3 billion last year. It was the highest remittance to any country in sub-Saharan Africa and an increase of more than $2 billion compared to the previous year’s figure of $22.3 billion.
According to the World Bank’s latest “Migration and Development Brief”, immigrants sent $46 billion to their home countries in sub-Saharan Africa last year, a 10 per cent jump in remittances in 2017.
The growth in remittances was supported by strong economic conditions in high-income economies, the World Bank said.
Remittances to sub-Saharan African countries last year contributed significantly to the GDP of these nations.
Remittances to the Middle East and North Africa grew by nine per cent to $62 billion in 2018. The growth was driven by Egypt’s rapid remittance growth of around 17 per cent.
The Brief said: “Beyond 2018, the growth of remittances to the region is expected to continue, albeit at a slower pace of around three per cent in 2019 due to moderating growth in the Euro Area.”
Elumelu said: “Africa is richly endowed to create a great future. Africans should be able to follow up on how technology is changing the face of the world. Technology is good, and we should be talking about rebranding, as we talk about our history. We need to leverage our population to change the world for good. The population of African in Diaspora is around 1.5 billion.”
He said these Africans in Diaspora are looking for a place to call their own, and African governments should create the right environment to attract such personalities and their investments.
Elumelu added: “Africa needs history and economic transformation. We want people with capital to invest in Africa, while governments should create enabling environments for private sector to thrive.”
