Obasanjo Criticises African Leaders, Urges End to Aid Dependency

By Oluwakemi Kindness

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised many African leaders for lacking the basic understanding of economics required to govern effectively, warning that this ignorance continues to hinder development and deepen reliance on foreign aid.

Obasanjo spoke on Thursday during a panel session at the 2025 Afreximbank Annual Meetings held in Abuja, Nigeria.

The session, themed *“African Renaissance in an Era of Turbulence: Are the Lions Still on the Move?”*, was moderated by CNBC Africa’s senior anchor, Fifi Peters.

He listed Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Kenya, Senegal, and Morocco as Africa’s “lions,” but said most of them are failing to lead the continent’s economic progress.

“The lions are there. They are not moving as they should be moving. And they have to move as they should move before you get Africa really as a continent moving as we expect it to move,” he said.

He linked the slow pace of growth in these countries to political instability, poor leadership, and weak institutions, noting that sound economics cannot be achieved without stable politics.

“You cannot talk of economics without touching on politics, because politics is the master of economics,” Obasanjo stated.

He also accused Africa’s political elite of copying Western democratic systems without adapting them to local realities.

According to him, the traditional African model of communal decision-making based on consensus has been replaced by adversarial politics that often lack substance.

“Western liberal democracy, which we inherited from our colonial masters, needs to be internalised and interrogated. In most African languages, opposition is the enemy. Where do you talk of a loyal enemy?” he asked.

“Our democracy is a monocracy. Not democracy. Monitocracy. Which means you buy… You will buy for everybody. And you will be the treasurer. And the money that comes in will, of course, go into your pocket.”

He argued that traditional African governance systems focused on dialogue, consensus, and communal accountability, unlike the often divisive nature of Western-style politics.

Obasanjo also decried Africa’s continued dependence on foreign aid, insisting the continent must focus on self-reliance through production and trade.

“We have lived too long on aid. Is aid the way that Africa should be expecting? I don’t believe so,” he said. “We run to Japan. We run to China. And all the African leaders run to China. For how much? \$20bn, which a country in Africa can produce more like that.”

He further praised Ethiopia’s post-war wheat export initiative as a model of self-driven progress and commended Afreximbank’s efforts to promote intra-African trade using local currencies.

He urged central banks across the continent to support the initiative to reduce dependence on foreign currencies in cross-border trade.