Addis Ababa, 17 March 2025 (ECA) - The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents Africa with a chance to embrace trade-led development, Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s former vice president, said at the ECA Conference of African Finance Ministers.
Osinbajo, who delivered the 2025 Adebayo Adedeji Memorial Lecture noted that achieving deeper African unity and integration – ideals that guided Adedeji all through his illustrious career – was possible if leaders intensified efforts to implement the trade agreement.
He highlighted the need to urgently invest in infrastructure to improve connectivity between African countries, stressing that this was one of the major constraints stifling intra-African trade.
“The transportation and logistics network represents perhaps the most critical constraint to intra-African trade,” he remarked.
Osinbajo bemoaned the fact that there were still far too many restrictions on the movement of people in Africa. “Visa barriers and work permit restrictions currently undermine the very essence of a single market,” he said, urging leaders to fast-track the ratification of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons.
“It is only through the free movement of African entrepreneurs, professionals, and skilled workers that we can fully activate the potential of our goods and services markets,” he said.
He commended ongoing efforts to help African countries reduce and ultimately eliminate tariffs on imports from fellow African countries. “The AfCFTA’s Adjustment Facility Fund has also been set up to support member states in mitigating tariff losses and other adjustment costs of liberalization of trade. This is important, considering that for many African countries tariffs account for nearly 10% of revenues.
Osinbajo acknowledged the persistent unemployment challenges facing Africa’s youth, arguing that the AfCFTA provided a pathway to better-paying jobs for young people on the continent.
Acknowledging the role of the private sector in driving Africa’s transformation, he conceded that access to affordable finance remained a significant challenge. He challenged leaders to develop their domestic capital markets.
“African capital markets should be integrated, enabling companies to raise funds across the continent. Regional stock exchanges should facilitate cross border investments, and harmonized financial regulations should allow financial institutions to operate seamlessly across multiple jurisdiction.”
Osinbajo underscored the need for committed leaders to drive transformation.
“In the end the success or failure of the AfCFTA will turn on one central point: Leadership. To achieve tangible results for regional integration should be an intentional political project.”
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