At WEF, Obasanjo Calls for New Global Financial Architecture to Drive Africa’s Development

Sunday EhigiatorFormer President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for a fundamental reset of the global financial system to enable Africa and the Global South achieve sustainable development, citing dwindling aid flows and rising debt burdens as major constraints.Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS Channel, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Obasanjo said defining a “sovereign future for Africa has become critical as traditional sources of development finance continue to shrink.”He stressed that Africa must explore innovative and homegrown financing models to support growth.“This year, particularly, we came here to seek a new financial resource architecture for development and growth in Africa, global Africa, and the Global South,” Obasanjo said in an interview with ARISE News.The former president noted that Official Development Assistance (ODA) is declining globally, while debt has become “an albatross around our neck,” limiting the capacity of many African countries to invest in critical sectors.Against this backdrop, Obasanjo revealed the launch of an initiative dubbed the “Accra Reset,” aimed at rethinking and redefining how resources for development are mobilised across Africa and the Global South.“We have to think of innovative ways to ensure development sustainably. What we are launching here in Davos is about finding new, practical approaches to financing development in Africa and beyond.”Obasanjo argued that without such a reset, efforts to improve livelihoods and drive inclusive growth across the continent would remain constrained. “If you say that is not enough to affect everybody’s life in Africa, then I wonder what else,” he added.The World Economic Forum in Davos brings together global leaders, policymakers and business executives to discuss pressing economic and development challenges facing the world.