President John Dramani Mahama has warned that Africa’s continued dependence on external actors for security, financing, and value creation amounts to a dangerous illusion of independence rather than true sovereignty.
Speaking in Davos during the Accra Reset convening, Mahama described the current global transition as a critical moment for the continent, stressing that Africa must reject arrangements that leave it exposed and dependent.
“This is not sovereignty. It is a trap,” he said, arguing that Africa cannot claim independence while relying on others to secure its borders, finance its development, or extract value from its own critical minerals.
The President noted that Africa’s weak bargaining position is worsened by fragmentation, especially at a time when global relations are becoming increasingly self-interested.
“Bilateral relations among nations are increasingly transactional, and many state and non-state actors are acting unilaterally in pursuit of their own national and parochial interests,” he observed.
Mahama maintained that Africa must respond to these realities by acting collectively and asserting itself in shaping the emerging global system.
“While no specific name has not been coined yet for the new global system that will emerge, Africa intends to be at the table in determining what that new global order will look like,” he declared.
According to him, the Accra Reset provides a framework for African countries to negotiate together, industrialise collectively, and build systems that deliver real economic opportunity at home, replacing dependency with meaningful and measurable sovereignty.
