Seleman Yusuph Kitenge opinion article back in February last year on Africa repairing itself with a “First” policy is an eye-opener to the inanity that has coursed the open chest of the fragile continent.
The world is changing rapidly, and Africa can no longer afford to be a spectator. The return of nationalist economic agendas, intensifying competition over critical minerals, trade tensions among major powers, and growing uncertainty in international development financing have exposed a reality many African countries have long avoided confronting: no external power will prioritize Africa’s future more than Africans themselves.
This is why the continent urgently needs an “Africa First” approach.
The phrase should not be mistaken for isolationism or hostility toward international partners. Rather, it is a call for African governments to place the continent’s interests at the center of every diplomatic, economic, and development decision. In a world where every major power is pursuing its own strategic ambitions, Africa must do the same.
The events of the past two years have delivered a powerful lesson. The sharp reduction and restructuring of foreign assistance by traditional Western donors, including the United States, demonstrated how vulnerable many African nations remain to decisions made thousands of miles away. Programs supporting healthcare, food security, education, democracy, and humanitarian assistance were disrupted almost overnight, creating uncertainty for governments and millions of citizens who depended on them.
For decades, foreign aid has contributed significantly to Africa’s development. It has helped expand access to education, reduce child mortality, combat HIV/AIDS, improve agricultural productivity, and strengthen public institutions. Millions of lives have undoubtedly been improved through international cooperation.
Across much of the continent, development planning often assumes that external partners will fill budgetary gaps, finance critical infrastructure, and sustain essential public services. Such assumptions are increasingly risky in a world where donor priorities can change with elections, economic downturns, geopolitical conflicts, or domestic political pressures.
The lesson is straightforward: development that depends primarily on the generosity of others can never be fully secure.
Today’s geopolitical environment makes this reality even more apparent. The war in Ukraine, instability in the Middle East, rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, and growing competition between the United States and China have shifted global attention and resources elsewhere. Africa frequently finds itself competing with multiple crises for international funding and diplomatic attention.
Meanwhile, the continent faces its own mounting challenges. Public debt burdens continue to strain national budgets. Climate change is intensifying droughts, floods, and food insecurity. Youth unemployment remains alarmingly high. Population growth is placing enormous pressure on healthcare, education, housing, and infrastructure systems.
Africa possesses vast natural wealth, including critical minerals that are essential to the global green transition. Cobalt, lithium, manganese, copper, graphite, rare earth elements, and other strategic resources are increasingly sought after by industrial powers seeking to secure supply chains for electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, and advanced manufacturing.
Yet history offers a warning. For centuries, Africa has exported raw materials while importing finished products at much higher value. Unless deliberate policies are adopted, the green energy revolution risks repeating this pattern.
An Africa First agenda would prioritize value addition, local processing, industrialization, and technology transfer. Instead of merely exporting critical minerals, African countries should negotiate partnerships that create jobs, build industries, and retain more wealth within the continent.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides one of the greatest opportunities in this regard. If fully implemented, it could transform Africa into the world’s largest free trade area by membership, creating stronger regional value chains, expanding manufacturing, increasing intra-African trade, and reducing excessive dependence on external markets.
For too long, African economies have traded more with Europe, Asia, and North America than with one another. This paradox has weakened economic resilience and limited opportunities for regional growth. The future prosperity of Africa will depend significantly on how effectively it can trade with itself.
Domestic resource mobilization must also become a central pillar of development policy. Every year, billions of dollars leave the continent through illicit financial flows, tax avoidance schemes, corruption, and weak revenue collection systems. Recovering even a fraction of these resources could dramatically improve governments’ ability to finance infrastructure, healthcare, education, and climate adaptation programs.
The continent’s leaders must also rethink their approach to debt. Borrowing is not inherently problematic, but debt should finance productive investments that generate long-term economic returns rather than consumption or politically motivated projects. Fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability are essential if Africa is to escape recurring cycles of debt distress.
Climate finance presents another crucial test of Africa’s strategic positioning. Despite contributing only a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa bears a disproportionate share of climate-related losses and damages. The continent must continue demanding climate justice from developed nations while simultaneously investing in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, resilient infrastructure, and green industrialization.
An Africa First strategy therefore means balancing legitimate expectations from international partners with a stronger commitment to self-reliance.
This is not an argument against cooperation. Africa still needs investment, trade, technology, expertise, and strategic partnerships. However, partnerships should be based on mutual benefit rather than dependency. African nations must engage with the United States, China, the European Union, India, the Gulf states, and other emerging powers from a position of confidence, clarity, and collective purpose.
The ultimate goal should be simple: ensure that every partnership advances African priorities first.
The continent is home to the world’s youngest population, vast agricultural potential, abundant renewable energy resources, and some of the most important strategic minerals of the twenty-first century. These advantages provide Africa with unprecedented leverage in a rapidly changing global economy.
The age of dependency is becoming increasingly unsustainable. The age of strategic self-determination must begin.
