… Says Africa to take its rightful place in the global order.
African Think-Tanks have gathered in Abuja to brainstorm on the new emerging global order brought about by United States President Donald Trump Reciprocal Tariff Policy.
The African policy experts who gathered in Abuja on Wednesday stated that it was time for Africa to take its rightful place in the global order.
The gathering, a Roundtable on African Perspectives On the Emerging global order, a tripartite project undertaken by Nigeria’s Institute For Peace and Conflict Resolution( IPCR), Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) in Cape Town, South Africa and the International Peace Institute (IPI) New York, United States.
Director General of the IPCR, Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, in his welcome speech stated that the roundtable was to present collective continental response by “giving African voice to the emerging global order and drive the continent from passivity to activeness .”
He also noted that “this will help African institutions interrogate how they can strengthen governance systems, address security challenges, and foster long-term political stability."
Senior Special Assistant (SSA), to President Bola Tinubu on International Cooperation, Dapo Oyewole, stated that Nigeria should be driving the emerging global order, and not just fitting in.
And that "the vision of President Bola Tinubu is to “proactively shape what happened in Africa and the rest of the world because Nigeria is bringing a lot to the table.”
Speaking further he said, that "at a time of global uncertainty, reconfiguration and shifting global alliances, Africa should no longer be a bystander or a proxy of other contending forces.
“The time has come for Africa to speak with a coherent and confident voice grounded in our realities, our values and our aspiration for the future. Africa must negotiate from the position of strength through strategic planning and engagement," he said.
According to him " the current developments around the world provide Africa with a renewed opportunity to rethink and recalibrate its position backed by political will and regional solidarity."
The Head of IJR, Peace building interventions programme and Extraordinary Professor of African Studies , University of Free State, South Africa, Prof. Tim Murithi,, said that African think tanks are working together to engender strategic ideas and work more convincingly to put certain ideas on the table as the world realities unfold.
“We have a crisis of global multilaterism, our institutions are failing, we know that the UN Security Council has in effect collapsed and as Africans we need to harness our collective ability through institutions like the AU, ECOWAS ans be more strategic,” he said
He stressed the importance of the collaboration with the Nigerian government, saying it was apt as it will guarantee Africa’s place in shaping the global order, even as he called for more intra -African knowledge generation and expertise to strengthen the continent’s position.
Policy Specialist for Africa at the IPI New York Bitania Tadesse,, in her remarks stated that the roundtable is a broad-based approach to addressing emerging crisis and co create a new global order where Africa can be an active player. And that it will deepen discussion for African stakeholders to reconceptualise the African positions on global affairs.
"The global community is undergoing a profound transformation. The world is replete with rising geopolitical tensions, the erosion of multilateral cooperation, and the decline in international aid are reshaping the rules of global engagement.
"Against this backdrop, African leaders must explore the difficult but necessary decisions to be a proactive, strategic actor in the new world order."
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