Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has urged African leaders to recommit to job creation, industrialization, decentralization, and equitable resource distribution as a means of addressing the continent’s deepening youth crisis.
Delivering remarks at the African Union Executive Council’s 26th Extraordinary Session on Conflict Resolution and Prevention, Ablakwa lamented the desperation driving thousands of young Africans to risk their lives in search of opportunities abroad. He cited recent images of more than 72,000 youth attempting to enter Ceuta, Spain, where 111 died, and recalled last year’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) report that documented over 2,180 deaths in the Mediterranean.
“As we speak, 600 million Africans do not have access to electricity. That is 43 percent of our population,” he observed, stressing that the continent’s vast natural wealth — diamonds, gold, bauxite, oil, and gas — must be harnessed to create jobs and opportunities at home.
Ablakwa argued that Africa’s richest resource is its people, and called for a new leadership paradigm that prioritizes compassion, vision, and practical solutions to the root causes of conflict and migration. “To stem this sorry state of affairs, we must recommit to job creation, industrialization, real decentralization, and sharing the wealth of this continent,” he said.
His appeal comes amid growing concern that Africa’s youthful population, if left without opportunities, will continue to face tragic outcomes in their search for livelihoods abroad.
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