No nation can develop through the benevolence of others – Wike

By Wumi Tewogbade, Abuja

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike,on Thursday, said it is imperative for Africa as a continent yo look beyond foreign aid, because development cannot be donated but built, no country can achieve anything through benevolence from other countries.

Wike stated this at the 2025 Innovate Africa Conference organized by innovate Africa Corporation in Abuja.

The theme for the conference is “Reimagining Africa’s Leadership and investment’.

He lamented that Africa, despite its rich potentials are still dependent on others for foreign aids.

He said, “Africa stands today at the threshold of destiny, a continent rich in promise yet still wrestling with the lingering weight of dependence. For too long, Africa has looked outward for solutions to problems that can only be solved from within.

“The time has come for Africa to come of age and rise beyond the rhetoric of aid and dependency, and to take deliberate, courageous decisions to chart its own path toward self-reliance, prosperity, and global relevance.

“Foreign aid, once embraced as a bridge to development, has too often become a crutch that weakens resolve and distorts priorities. Development cannot be donated; it must be built. No nation or continent has ever achieved greatness through the benevolence of others. Africa must now declare, with conviction and clarity, that it will no longer be defined by grants and conditionalities but by ideas, innovation, and indigenous strength. Our future must be crafted not in the conference rooms of donor agencies, but in the creative laboratories, farms, classrooms, and workshops of Africans determined to transform their continent”.

He therefore said it is imperative for, “Africa must now rise above aid, rediscover her strength, and rebuild her institutions. We must remember that no one can do as much for us as we can do for ourselves, and that in this world of concrete interests, there is no free lunch and no lasting handout. Let us therefore reimagine investment, reclaim our self-reliance, and reposition Africa not as a continent waiting for benevolence, but as a continent prepared to lead. The future of global prosperity will be written here on African soil, by African hands, and for the glory of Africa and all humanity”.

Wike who also lamented that despite the great human capacity in Africa, Africa still grapple with ‘transactional leadership, the kind driven by personal gain, patronage, and short-term calculations’ and that it is time the continent move beyond this.

He said, “But leadership must also create the enabling environment for transformation by providing the critical infrastructure that attracts investment, drives productivity, and sustains growth. At present, the level of investment in Africa remains minimal precisely because of infrastructural decay and policy inconsistency. Roads, power, railways, and digital connectivity are the arteries through which development flows; without them, the economy cannot freely breathe. It is to be deeply regretted that Africa continues to export raw materials and import finished goods, a cycle that perpetuates dependency and stifles industrial growth. This situation is unhealthy for sustainable development, which has eluded the continent for far too long.

“Africa’s future will be written by the kind of leadership we nurture today, leadership that not only dreams, but dares; not only commands, but serves; not only governs, but transforms”.

The FCT Minister, therefore concluded that it is time, Africa move beyond all these,
“To secure Africa’s future, we must first reimagine leadership itself. The time has come to move beyond transactional leadership, the kind driven by personal gain, patronage, and short-term calculations, to embrace transformational leadership rooted in vision, courage, service, and accountability. Leadership must not exploit, but empower; it must not rule, but serve; it must not merely transact, but transform”.

Closing Reflections

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, reimagining Africa’s leadership and investment is not merely an intellectual exercise; it is an urgent call to action. Our continent can no longer afford incremental change; the time has come for transformational change.

Let me be clear: Africa’s future will not be given to us. We must build it. And we must build it now. The future I see is an Africa where leadership is rooted in service and integrity, not in privilege and power; where investment fuels inclusive growth, lifting millions from poverty into prosperity; where youth and women stand at the forefront driving innovation, creativity, and governance; where infrastructure becomes the great equalizer, connecting communities and economies; and where Africa speaks with one voice, not as 55 fragmented states, but as one dynamic continent reimagined, renewed, and resolute in purpose.

The question before us is not whether Africa can rise, but whether we possess the courage to lead, the wisdom to invest, and the will to unite. History will not remember what we merely dreamed for Africa; it will remember what we did for Africa. It will judge us not by our rhetoric, but by our actions and results.

Let us therefore leave this conference not with lofty words, but with firm commitments—to lead differently, to invest boldly, and to believe radically in the limitless potential of our continent. The time is now. The place is here. The responsibility is ours. And the future, unambiguously, belongs to Africa