Tinubu pledged that his administration would collaborate with the African Union Commission and member states to ensure the successful establishment of the African Central Bank by the targeted year 2028, the Daily Post reports.
Emphasizing the importance of unity and resolution, Tinubu stated that Africa's success in overcoming challenges relies on solid foundations of solidarity. He highlighted external challenges like climate change and unfair global trade patterns but also acknowledged internal obstacles such as coup-driven autocracies and manipulations of constitutional tenure provisions that Africans impose on themselves.
“As a continent and as individual nations, we face strong headwinds and difficult hurdles threatening to complicate our mission to bring qualitative democratic governance and economic development to our people. Many of these obstacles, such as climate change and unfair patterns of global trade, are largely not of our making. However, some of the pitfalls, including coup-birthed autocracies and the deleterious tinkering with constitutional tenure provisions, are developmental cancers we as Africans are giving to ourselves,” said Tinubu.
Addressing recent military takeovers in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, as well as the departure of three nations from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Tinubu urged that disagreements over unconstitutional changes of government should not lead to permanent ruptures in regional ties.
He emphasized that the pursuit of a peaceful, strong, and united West Africa transcends individual interests.
The 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government focuses on the AU's 2024 theme, "Educate an African fit for the 21st Century," aiming to build resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning across Africa. The event is hosted at the AU headquarters.