President Bola Tinubu, on Saturday, urged West African leaders to harness the region’s youthful population and abundant natural resources for economic transformation through industrialisation, education, and innovation.
Delivering the opening address at the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) in Abuja, President Tinubu described the region’s vibrant, youthful population as its greatest asset.
“However, this demographic promise can quickly become a liability if not matched by investments in education, digital infrastructure, innovation, and productive enterprise,” he warned.
The president emphasised the need for regional cooperation, citing Nigeria’s investments in skills development, digital connectivity, and youth empowerment.
“No one country can do this alone. Our prosperity depends on regional supply chains, energy networks and data frameworks. We must design them together—or they will collapse separately,” he said.
President Tinubu called for urgent efforts to dismantle trade barriers across the subregion.
He expressed concern that with intra-regional trade still below 10 per cent, West Africa must “coordinate or collapse” in the race for global economic relevance.
On infrastructure and investment, the Nigerian leader urged West Africa to move beyond the export of raw materials and prioritise value-added industries:
“Let us recognise that Africa was left behind in previous industrial revolutions. We cannot afford to miss the next one.
“Our rare minerals power tomorrow’s green technologies, yet being resource—rich is not enough; we must also become value-chain smart and invest in local processing and regional manufacturing.
“The era of ‘pit to port’ must end. We must turn our mineral wealth into domestic economic value—jobs, technology, and manufacturing.”
The Nigerian leader, who chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, underscored the role of the private sector in driving transformation.
“The fundamental transformation will not come solely from government, but from unleashing our people’s entrepreneurial spirit. Governments must provide the right environment—law, order, and market-friendly policies—while the private sector drives growth.”
Calling on regional leaders to commit to clear deliverables, President Tinubu said:
“Our task is to find new and effective ways to invest in our collective future, improve the business climate, and create opportunities for our youth and women.
Let us emerge from this summit with actionable outcomes: a renewed commitment to ease of doing business, enhanced intra-regional trade, improved infrastructure connectivity, and innovative ideas that move our people from poverty to prosperity.”
He charged summit participants—heads of state, policymakers, business leaders, and development partners—with building an investable, competitive, and resilient West Africa by leading with vision, responsibility, and unity.
*Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)
