Immediate past President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, on Thursday called for cooperation among African nations to tackle their challenges.
Akufo-Addo made this call at a book launch in Abuja in honour of a former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida.
He said African nations should not rely on foreign aid for survival, arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic made some nations to be independent.
“There is no such thing as charity in international relations. Nobody is going to give you vaccines until their own needs have been fully satisfied,” he said.
“African countries therefore need to cooperate with each other and not count on aid from the international community. That is why Senegal, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, and others have taken the responsibility of manufacturing their own vaccines.”
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According to Akufo-Addo, the pandemic taught the world several lessons, including the need for global leaders to “admit the urgency of the infrastructural deficiency in our countries, especially in the health sector, as was exposed by the pandemic”.
He noted that the pandemic also enabled governments to embark on a programme that involved the construction of hospitals for the citizens.
COVID-19, a respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was first identified in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, and led to a global pandemic.
Several leaders including President Bola Tinubu; ex-president Goodluck, former Head of State Yakubu Gowon; Abdulsalami Abubakar among others attended the event.
In his remarks, Jonathan hailed ex-military president Ibrahim Babangida over the launch of his memoir and believes Nigeria’s history is incomplete without the former’s story.
“So, Ibrahim Bagandiga as we all know, is one of the most charismatic leaders in this country. He is somebody that, up to date, people go as if they are going on a pilgrimage to consult him. We thank God for giving him that grace and the wisdom to continue to mentor people,” Jonathan said at the event which also doubles as the launch of Babangida’s presidential library.
“In terms of leadership, Nigerians know you have contributed significantly in terms of the infrastructure development of this country and social mobilisation. We cannot write the history of Nigeria without dedicating a reasonable part to your service as the president of Nigeria,” he said. “You’ve done well!”
