Tangier, Morocco – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has issued one of his strongest international appeals yet, warning that Africa faces a new form of dispossession if it fails to assert itself in shaping the emerging global order.
Speaking Wednesday at the prestigious MEDays Forum, often described as “the Davos of the Global South,” the Liberian leader said that while earlier centuries saw Africans taken away from Africa, today decisions made abroad threaten to “take Africa away from Africans.”
Boakai told world leaders, diplomats, and investors gathered in Tangier that Africa can no longer remain an observer in global affairs while outsiders continue to shape its policies, narratives, and economic direction.
“This cannot continue,” he declared, arguing that Africa’s natural wealth enriches others more than its own people.
The Liberian President challenged African nations to rise as architects of the new world equation, not passive recipients of external decisions.
He outlined four areas where the continent must lead with conviction: geopolitics, security, economic governance, and regional integration. On geopolitics, Boakai said Africa must unify its voice in global institutions and refuse to be used as a battleground for major power rivalries.
In security, he urged deeper regional intelligence cooperation to tackle terrorism, cyber threats, trafficking, and organized crime.Boakai reserved his strongest remarks for economic governance, insisting that Africa break away from the centuries-old model of exporting raw materials with little value returned to its citizens.
“No nation has developed by exporting raw materials alone,” he said. “Africa must process its minerals at home, build industries, and ensure that the God-given resources of Africa uplift the people of Africa first.”
He also called for accelerated implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the construction of roads, ports, railways, and digital infrastructure that bind African economies together.
Turning to investors, President Boakai said Africa seeks partnership, not charity, and urged value-driven investment that promotes local ownership, responsible governance, and shared prosperity.
“A positive mindset sees Africa not as a risk, but as a partner in global progress,” he said.
Boakai closed with a powerful African proverb: “Until the lion learns to speak, every story will glorify the hunter.” Africa, he declared, is finally learning to speak—reshaping its own narrative, asserting its dignity, and claiming its rightful place in global decision-making.“Africa is not silent. Africa is speaking. Africa is not waiting. Africa is moving. Africa is not behind. Africa is rising.”
