Chairman, United Bank for Africa Group (UBA) proposed job creation for
the youth, inclusive growth, and gender diversity as priority areas for
Africa’s development agenda to achieve peace and stability on the
continent.
He said this while speaking on a high-level panel with His Excellences
Macky Sall, President of Senegal, and Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, President
of Mauritania. Other speakers on the panel include Florence Parly,
Defence Minister of France; and Pierre Buyoya former President of
Burundi and representative of the African Union.
Mr. Elumelu stressed the urgency in tackling poverty, the root cause of
extremism in Africa. He said: “We know, and we say, that poverty
anywhere is a threat to mankind everywhere. What manifests itself in
what we call security breakdown or terrorism, or extremism is actually
deeply rooted in poverty, in joblessness So with due respect, we can
have 101 seminars like this but unless and until we begin to address
these issues of poverty, joblessness amongst our young ones, they will
continue to allow themselves to be brainwashed by people who see no
future, and they will continue to engage in extremism.”
He emphasised that while it is no doubt important to discuss weaponry,
and other means to deal with insurgency, a lasting peace can only be
attained in the long run by investing in our young people across Africa.
H.E. Macky Sall acquiesced to the need for the public sector to
collaborate with the private sector to tackle poverty on the continent.
He said: “Addressing the threats cannot be done on a standalone basis
due to the fact that the challenges know no borders”. He called for a
more collaborative approach to alleviate violence and extremism to boost
investments in Africa.
Mr. Elumelu cited the impact of the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s $100
million Entrepreneurship Programme as one of the practical ways the
private sector in Africa can intervene to bring about peace and
stability on the continent. Speaking further, he referenced the
partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and
the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) to empower 100,000 young Africans in
10 years with a focus on the Sahel region for its first year. Also
mentioning TEF partnerships with other international development
agencies such as GIZ and ICRC, Mr. Elumelu reiterated that only
“activities and interventions like this will help to bring economic hope
to people in this part of the world and they will become less involved
in extremism. We support these young ones and we are beginning to see
how their successes are translated into better and more secure
communities”.
Mr. Elumelu pointed out that businesses cannot flourish where there is
extremism and people are afraid for their lives. It will be even harder
to attract the global private capital needed for large infrastructure
projects and long-term investments which can help to fix our economy.
Mr. Elumelu ended his session on an optimistic note, calling on all
stakeholders to collaborate to win the war on poverty and insecurity.
“There is a lot we all can do – the private sector, government, and
development partners – in making sure that we focus on winning the war
on terrorism; that we make sure we stem the migration of our young
people crossing the Mediterranean through harsh conditions, in search of
hope, when indeed we have more opportunities and resources in our
continent. We need to work together to ensure that extremism is totally
annihilated in Africa. It is possible but we need to work together to
achieve this.”