• Says US retreat from international development chance for continent’s renewal
•Decries wholesale export of raw materials from Africa
•Wants governments to implement AfCFTA with greater urgency
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Former President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, yesterday declared that foreign development assistance can never bridge Africa’s estimated annual infrastructure financing gap of between $130 billion and $170 billion, arguing that the continent must fundamentally rethink its development model by prioritising domestic resource mobilisation, industrialisation and stronger institutions.
Speaking during a panel session at the Global Strategic Advisory Group (GSAG) meeting held at Villa La Collina, Lake Como, Italy, Saraki maintained that the ongoing withdrawal of the United States from international development assistance, though painful in the short term, should be viewed as an opportunity for Africa to redefine its relationship with development partners and pursue greater self-reliance.
Addressing the panel on: “Development Policies—Withdrawal of the U.S. from International Development: Opportunities and Challenges,” the former Kwara governor argued that the world was witnessing one of the most significant shifts in the global development architecture since the end of the Cold War.
According to him, the reduction in American development assistance, restructuring of USAID programmes and Washington’s increasing focus on domestic priorities represent more than a temporary adjustment, but a structural transformation that requires countries, particularly in Africa, to rethink the future of international development cooperation.
Saraki acknowledged that the humanitarian implications of the shift were substantial, citing projections that millions of additional HIV infections could occur if funding gaps remained unaddressed, while noting that developing countries were already facing significant financing shortfalls arising from recent cuts in American assistance.
He pointed out that health supply chains, emergency nutrition programmes and support for civil society organisations had already suffered disruptions following the withdrawal of funding.
However, Saraki argued that concentrating solely on replacing lost donor funding would amount to missing the larger opportunity presented by the changing global order.
Instead, he said Africa should seize the moment to build a development framework that is more sustainable, equitable and strategically aligned with the continent’s long-term interests.
According to him, Africa’s challenge is not merely to replace one source of dependence with another, but to fundamentally redefine development cooperation through genuine partnerships, stronger governance and investments in future generations.
“I have witnessed both the transformative impact that development cooperation can achieve and the structural limitations that have too often constrained its effectiveness. From that perspective, I believe the current moment should not be viewed as a threat to the development enterprise.
“Rather, it represents its greatest opportunity for renewal. My central argument today is simple: Africa must seize this moment not to replace one dependency with another, but to redefine development cooperation altogether,” he pointed out.
Tracing the roots of Africa’s persistent development challenges, Saraki said that more than six decades after political independence, many African economies still largely reflected colonial structures centred on the export of raw materials while importing expensive finished products.
He argued that donor priorities had often shaped Africa’s development agenda, sometimes at the expense of the continent’s actual needs.
Drawing from his experience as Senate President, Saraki recalled that efforts to subject foreign borrowing to greater legislative scrutiny often met stiff resistance because many governments viewed external loans as easy options without paying sufficient attention to repayment obligations and long-term developmental impact.
He further contended that many donor-supported programmes primarily created jobs and markets for donor countries instead of helping African economies build sustainable productive capacity.
The former governor of Kwara State identified what he described as three major structural weaknesses in the traditional development assistance model.
First, he noted that aid volumes had always been far below Africa’s actual financing requirements, stressing that while the continent’s annual infrastructure financing deficit stood between $130 billion and $170 billion, total official development assistance to Africa from all sources amounted to only about $34 billion in recent years.
He argued that development assistance was designed to complement domestic resource mobilisation and private investment, warning that treating aid as a substitute inevitably created dependency instead of development.
Secondly, Saraki criticised the short duration of most donor-funded projects, saying institution-building required decades of sustained investment rather than the typical three-to-five-year project cycles adopted by development agencies.
He maintained that building competent public institutions, effective judicial systems, accountable public finance structures and professional civil services could not be accomplished within such limited timelines.
Thirdly, he said the existing development architecture failed to dismantle trade arrangements that kept African economies trapped at the lowest end of global value chains.
Saraki lamented that although Africa accounted for more than 70 per cent of global cocoa production, it captured less than 5 per cent of the estimated $130 billion global chocolate market.
He also cited Nigeria’s position as a major producer of raw shea nuts while earning only a tiny fraction of the global shea products market, arguing that exporting raw commodities deprived African countries of jobs, technology transfer and higher value earnings.
According to him, Africa was losing more than $100 billion annually because of inadequate local value addition across key commodities. Despite the challenges, Saraki insisted that the current geopolitical environment offered Africa unprecedented leverage as competing global powers sought closer engagement with the continent.
He noted that China, Europe, Gulf countries, India, Turkey and Russia had all expanded their presence across Africa, providing the continent with greater room to negotiate mutually beneficial partnerships.
He, however, cautioned that such leverage would only be meaningful if African countries articulated a clear development vision instead of merely responding to offers from external partners. Saraki therefore called for an end to the wholesale export of Africa’s raw materials, insisting that industrialisation and local value addition should become central pillars of the continent’s economic strategy.
He argued that processing lithium, cocoa, bauxite, cotton, timber and other natural resources within Africa would generate significantly more employment, encourage technology transfer and increase export earnings than continuing the export of raw materials.
He also urged European countries to reform existing trade arrangements by opening their markets more fully to manufactured African products rather than maintaining systems that encouraged the export of unprocessed commodities.
On domestic reforms, Saraki stressed that stronger resource mobilisation remained essential for Africa’s economic sovereignty.
He observed that Sub-Saharan Africa’s average tax-to-GDP ratio remained far below that of advanced economies, while Nigeria’s ratio was among the lowest globally.
According to him, improving tax collection, strengthening fiscal accountability and enhancing legislative oversight were political decisions that required determined leadership.
He also called for greater mobilisation of African capital, pointing to rising diaspora remittances and the rapid growth of African financial institutions such as Afreximbank as evidence that African-led financing could play a much larger role in driving development.
The former senate president further emphasised that transparent institutions, credible electoral systems, independent judiciaries and accountable public financial management were indispensable foundations for sustainable economic growth.
He argued that weak institutions perpetuated corruption, discouraged investment and deepened dependence on external assistance.
Saraki equally identified Africa’s youthful population as one of its greatest competitive advantages, stressing that investments in education, digital skills, entrepreneurship and innovation would determine whether the continent’s demographic profile translated into economic prosperity or social instability.
Addressing Europe’s future engagement with Africa, Saraki said the continent should not simply attempt to replace the vacuum left by reduced American assistance. Instead, he advocated a new partnership model based on trade, investment, institutional development and long-term cooperation rather than traditional aid programmes.
He argued that Europe’s long-term security and economic interests would ultimately be better served by supporting a stable, prosperous and industrialised Africa. Saraki also challenged African governments to accelerate implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), noting that intra-African trade remained significantly below levels recorded in Europe.
He said faster implementation of the continental trade agreement, combined with investments in cross-border infrastructure and policy harmonisation, would unlock the full potential of Africa’s estimated $3.4 trillion single market.
Saraki urged African leaders to strengthen democratic institutions, deepen regional integration, mobilise domestic resources and embrace production-driven development rather than dependence on foreign assistance.
“The changing role of the United States in international development is undoubtedly significant. Yet beyond the immediate challenges lies a far greater opportunity—an opportunity for Africa to rethink development, for Europe to reimagine partnership, and for both to build a relationship founded not on dependency, but on mutual interests, shared prosperity, and common purpose.
“The question before us is not how quickly we replace what has been withdrawn. The question is whether we have the wisdom and determination to build something better in its place. Africa does not need new patrons; it needs genuine partners willing to invest in its institutions, industries, infrastructure, innovation, and people,” he argued.
