By Kolawole Ojebisi
President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria who doubles as the Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has urged West African nations to.collectively chart a course towards economic independence as a means of securing a prosperous future for the subregion.
Tinubu identified policy alignment and aggressive investment as necessary ingredients for the realization of economic transformation for West Africa.
The ECOWAS Chairperson spoke on Saturday at Day 2 of the West African Economic Summit in Abuja.
“Your presence here signals our shared commitment to shaping a new economic future for our region. We gather at a decisive moment.
“Today is not about celebrating how far we have come, but forging a new path that leaves behind fragmentation amidst opportunities, and moves forward towards deeper integration, collective action, and shared prosperity.”
He continued, “The global economy will not wait for West Africa to get its act together. Nor should we.
“Rather than competing in isolation or relying on external partners, we must together strengthen our regional value chains, invest in infrastructure, and coordinate our policies,”
Emphasizing the beauty of synergy and the demerit of solo pursuit of the set goals, Tinubu said, “Our prosperity depends on regional supply chains, energy networks, and data frameworks. We must design them together, or they will collapse separately.”
