By Ebi Kesiena
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has asserted that the future of Africa lies in the creative ingenuity of its youthful population, stressing that their talents will be central to unlocking the continent’s full economic potential.
Amb. Tuggar who made this assertion on Day 2 of the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit (WAES 2025) held in Abuja, Nigeria.
Speaking to a diverse audience of Heads of State, policymakers, innovators, and private sector stakeholders, Tuggar emphasized that Africa is not lacking in capacity or ambition, but in the right strategy to harness its vast potential.
He noted that a reorientation of policy frameworks and economic actions is urgently needed to match the energy of Africa’s young creative.
“We must begin to look inward to the capabilities of our people, particularly our youth. Our job now is to find the best way to help deliver goods and services and make markets accessible. That’s how we begin to transform this continent from within.” he said.
He added that regional integration remains a central pillar in achieving this vision. Tuggar praised ECOWAS for continuing to uphold the principle of free movement of people, goods, and services across borders, describing it as a key advantage for the region.
According to him, the West African sub-region can effectively leverage technology, intra-regional trade, and shared knowledge systems to stimulate economic progress.
“We are uniquely positioned,” he said. “With our population, culture, and technological drive, we can process our raw talents and ideas into global innovations. What we must now do is stretch the imagination of the region and go beyond the conventional.”
He however added that Africa should maintain an enabling environment, resent an economic future for Africas which will in return boast peaceful stability and prosperity of the region.
Furthermore, Amb Tuggar solicited for more efforts to bring the informal sector into the formal economy, leveraging economies of scale and efficiencies to accelerate growth.
“As governments, as states, and the region, we need to do more to make it easy to bring that activity within the formal sector.
“Bring that investment, bring that local processing, let’s see our transport, economic infrastructure and other building blocks for prosperity grow,” he urged.
Meanwhile, the high point of WAES 2025 was the signing of a landmark agreement between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin on Saturday, aimed at deepening bilateral integration and setting a precedent for wider regional cooperation within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
