From Emmanuel Uzor, Awka
The President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, has identified foreign influence as the cause of political instability in Africa and called for a united Africa in the areas of security and socio-economic development.
Chambas, while speaking as the guest speaker at the 13th Zik’s Annual Lecture Series at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, noted that youths have lost faith in the democratic leaderships of the continent.
“The erosion of trust in the leadership of Africa has fuelled so much agitation in the continent and has led to civil unrest.”
“The great Zik of Africa had, while alive, made it clear that without unity, Africa would be vulnerable to political instability and external intervention.”
He advocated for a collective security approach to guard against foreign influence across the continent, adding that political instability remains the greatest challenge for the African continent.
The Chairman of the occasion and the Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, noted that the joint efforts of African leaders in the area of bilateral relationships would surely jump-start the process of facing the challenges across the African continent.
Mbah urged African leadership to make concerted efforts to unite the member countries and reduce their over-dependence on foreign influences.
Also speaking, the Anambra State Deputy Governor, Onyekachukwu Ibezim, who represented the Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, noted that as a government, the ideology of Nnamdi Azikiwe in the area of governance is being replicated in the state.
The wife of the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Prof. Uche Azikiwe, commended the organisers of the lecture series, adding that with such intellectual exercises, it goes to show that her husband is still alive while urging them to produce a compendium of all past lectures about her husband.
The benefactor of the Zik’s Annual Lecture Series, Senator Ben Ndi Obi, recalled: “13 years ago, I endowed this Zik’s lecture series; 13 years after, we are proud of the tremendous success achieved so far, doing what Zik of Africa would be proud of – setting a platform for robust academic discussions that would bring together key national leaders who would be credible, informed, accountable, and capable of solving the myriad societal problems facing our nation, continent, and the world at large.”
The Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Benard Odoh, described the lecture series as a discussion that would continue to contribute to the socio-economic development of the African continent.