African Leaders at NES 2025 Urge Governance Reforms, Integration for Growth

The 66th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES) opened in Abuja on Tuesday, 9 September 2025, bringing together over 2,500 delegates from 22 African countries, including economists, policymakers, academics, and international development partners. Discussions are centered on “Rethinking Africa’s Development: Pathways to Economic Transformation and Social Inclusion in a Changing Global Economic Landscape.”

Africa at a Crossroads

Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima, delivering the keynote, highlighted the continent’s demographic dividend and policy dilemmas. With Africa’s youthful population averaging 16.9 years of age, he warned that it could either drive prosperity or exacerbate poverty depending on leadership and policy decisions.

“Africa’s 1.5 billion people should represent a formidable economic force, yet the continent accounts for just 16 percent of global trade,” Shettima said. “We slept through the first three industrial revolutions. Now in the fourth, Africa stands at a crossroads.”

He compared India’s $100 billion outsourcing industry with Nigeria’s peak oil revenues of $25 billion in 2011, urging a shift toward knowledge-based sectors to diversify economies beyond commodities.

Nigeria’s Domestic Reforms

Shettima outlined the Nigerian government’s recent reforms, including:

• Fuel subsidy removal

• Exchange rate unification

• Tax reforms

While conceding these measures have caused hardship through inflation and higher living costs, he stressed they were essential to restoring investor confidence and laying the foundation for sustainable growth.

“These are tough times, but the recovery will be permanent,” Shettima assured, crediting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration with the political will to confront structural weaknesses.

He reiterated Nigeria’s ambition to achieve a $1 trillion economy by 2030, adding that Africa must adopt “paradigm-shifting policies at all levels” to secure economic transformation.

Financing Africa’s Future

Nigeria’s Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, underscored the continent’s financing gaps, noting that “individual countries in Europe and Asia carry larger debt markets than Africa as a whole.” He argued that Africa needs greater access to global capital and stronger investment in infrastructure and social inclusion.

“Our experience over the past two years shows that bold, even risky, reforms are necessary,” Bagudu emphasized, aligning with calls for fiscal innovation and investment partnerships.

AfDB’s Support and Governance as an Economic Imperative

The African Development Bank (AfDB) reaffirmed its commitment to advancing Africa’s development agenda. Eric Ogunleye, Director of the African Development Institute, highlighted AfDB’s initiatives, including:

• The Strategic Framework on Key Actions to Achieve Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development

• The Public Service Delivery Index

• Training platforms like the Public Finance Management Academy for Africa and the Macroeconomic Policy Management Academy for Africa

“These tools are available at no cost to member countries and are designed to accelerate structural transformation and inclusive growth,” Ogunleye noted.

Speaking in a plenary session on “Rethinking Governance Models in Africa for Sustainable Economic Growth,” Ogunleye underscored governance as decisive in separating thriving economies from struggling ones.

“Governance is not just an end in itself; it is an economic imperative,” he said. “Where governance is weak—whether overly centralized, fragmented, or reactive—countries fail to respond effectively to shocks.”

Regional Integration and Value Chains

Other panelists stressed that Africa’s transformation depends on deeper regional integration. Prof. Wale Ogunkola of the University of Ibadan argued that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) must move beyond tariff reduction to:

• Build regional value chains

• Invest in cross-border infrastructure

• Integrate services into manufacturing

“If you don’t produce, what are you going to trade?” Ogunkola asked, calling for stronger private sector participation and industrial diversification.

A Call for Bold Reforms and Unity

The conference highlighted a consensus: Africa must confront structural weaknesses, embrace governance reforms, diversify beyond commodities, and deepen integration to withstand global shocks ranging from climate change to geopolitical instability.

As Shettima concluded, the continent has reached a turning point: “The choices we make today will determine whether Africa becomes a beacon of prosperity or remains caught in cycles of fragility. We cannot afford to miss the fourth industrial revolution.”