“Put Money Where the Mouth Is” — Nigeria’s Tinubu and Gabon’s Nguema Urge Shift from Raw Exports to Value Addition

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KIGALI – Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Gabon’s President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema have called for stronger regional cooperation, greater value addition to Africa’s natural resources and coordinated investment in industrial development.

Speaking during a presidential panel that closed the first day of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, the two heads of state said Africa’s economic transformation will only be achieved if countries work together rather than pursue isolated national strategies.

The Africa CEO Forum, taking place in Kigali, has brought together more than 2,000 business leaders, investors and policymakers from over 75 countries to discuss how Africa can accelerate growth through industrialisation, trade and investment.

President Tinubu said African leaders must match their commitments with real investment and stronger collaboration.

“We must put our money where our mouth is,” Tinubu said, stressing that the continent cannot achieve meaningful progress if countries continue to operate in silos.

“We should not work in silos, but in collaboration with one another.”

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria stressed that fragmentation remains one of the continent’s biggest barriers to growth.

He said Africa should stop exporting raw materials without processing them locally, arguing that the jobs and industrial benefits created by the continent’s resources should remain in Africa.

“We don’t want to extract and leave value elsewhere,” he said. “Policies that retain industrial and employment benefits within Africa should be in place.”

Speaking through a translator, President Nguema echoed the same message, saying Africa must unite and build stronger institutions to support integration.

“We need to unite, speak with one voice, and pool our efforts for a stronger Africa,” Nguema said.

He noted that other regions, particularly Europe, have built competitive economies through shared institutions and coordinated industrial strategies, and said Africa can draw lessons from that experience.

President Paul Kagame congratulates Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria and Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema of the Gabonese Republic after the presidential panel discussion.

Both leaders said Africa has the resources, population and market size needed to become a global economic force, but this potential will only be realised if countries build cross-border value chains and align their policies.

Their remarks reflect the broader ambition of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create a single market for goods and services across the continent.

Africa is home to more than 1.4 billion people and has some of the world’s largest reserves of critical minerals, agricultural land and energy resources.

Yet much of this wealth is still exported in raw form, limiting the continent’s ability to create jobs, build industries and generate greater value.

Gabonese Republic’s president Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema pointed to earlier pan-African initiatives as proof that collaboration is possible.

Tinubu and Nguema said changing this model will require African countries to work together and invest in industries that process and manufacture goods within the continent.

Their message was clear: Africa’s future will depend not on individual countries acting alone, but on how effectively the continent turns its shared resources into shared prosperity.

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