Chairperson ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for urgent collective economic transformation across the region, saying West African nations must turn its mineral wealth into domestic economic value chains for jobs and technology.
President Tinubu made the call during his keynote address on Saturday at the inaugural West African Economic Summit, themed: “Unlocking Trade and Investment Opportunities in the Region.”
President Tinubu also called on West African nations to end the practice of exporting raw minerals without processing them locally ,he described the practice as a “pit-to-port” dependency.
President Tinubu emphasised that governments need to establish the conducive business environment—ensuring law, order, and market-friendly policies—while the private sector takes the lead in driving growth.
“Let us also recognise that Africa was left behind in previous industrial revolutions. We cannot afford to miss the next one. Our rare minerals power tomorrow’s green technologies—yet it is not enough to be resource-rich; we must become value-chain smart and invest in local processing and regional manufacturing.
The era of pit to port must end. We must turn our mineral wealth into domestic economic value—jobs, technology, and manufacturing.
“The fundamental transformation will not come solely from government but from unleashing our people’s entrepreneurial spirit.
The ECOWAS Chairperson further tasked tasked West African leaders to explore innovative and effective strategies to invest in the region’s shared future, and generate opportunities for the youths and women.
“Our task is to find new and effective ways to invest in our collective future, improve the business climate, and create opportunities for our youth and women.” He said.
Further cautioning on under 10 percent intra-regional trade, the Nigerian Leader called on leaders in the region to strengthen regional value chains, invest in infrastructure, and coordinate policies.
“Intra-regional trade remains under 10%—a challenge we can no longer afford to ignore.The low trade is not due to a failure of will but a coordination failure.
“The global economy will not wait for West Africa to get its act together, and neither should we. Rather than competing in isolation or relying on external partners, we must strengthen our regional value chains, invest in infrastructure, and coordinate our policies.
He highlighted that the greatest asset of the region remains its youthful population, he warned that the demographic advantage can become a liability if appropriate investment in education, digital infrastructure, innovation and productive enterprise are not done.
“Our region’s greatest asset is its youthful population. However, this demographic promise can quickly become a liability if not matched by investments in education, digital infrastructure, innovation, and productive enterprise. For example, Nigeria invests in skills development, digital connectivity, and youth empowerment. But no one country can do this alone. Our prosperity depends on regional supply chains, energy networks, and data frameworks. We must design them together — or they will collapse separately.” He stressed.
President Bola Tinubu also urged leaders and stakeholders at the Summit to leave the gathering with concrete and actionable results.
“Our prosperity depends on regional supply chains, energy networks, and data frameworks. We must design them together, or they will collapse separately.
“From the Lagos to Abidjan highway and the West African Power Pool to creative industry initiatives, our joint projects show what’s possible when we work together. But we must move from declarations to concrete deals — from policy frameworks to practical implementation,” President Tinubu added.
He emphasized the need for a renewed commitment to improving the ease of doing business, boosting intra-regional trade, enhancing infrastructure connectivity, and fostering innovative ideas aimed at lifting people out of poverty and into prosperity.
“Let us emerge from this summit with actionable outcomes: a renewed commitment to ease of doing business, enhanced intra-regional trade, improved infrastructure connectivity, and innovative ideas that move our people from poverty to prosperity.
“Let us build a West Africa that is investable, competitive, and resilient—one that leads with vision, responsibility, and unity This is the new West African proposition. Let us make it real, let us make it bankable.”
President Tinubu’s remarks highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts to drive sustainable economic growth and development across the region.
The Economic Summit, which entered its final day on Saturday, preceded the 67th Ordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), scheduled to hold at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja on Sunday, June 22, 2025.
WAES, an initiative of President Tinubu in his capacity as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, is the first of its kind and is convened to deepen regional economic integration.
With focus on enhancing trade and investment cooperation across the subregion, WAES recorded the participation of the Presidents of Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, The Gambia, Benin, Togo, and Guinea-Bissau.
Also in attendance were ministers of finance, trade, infrastructure, and foreign affairs from ECOWAS Member States, alongside representatives of key regional economic bodies including the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
Private sector leaders, development partners, and policy experts also participated in the summit, which is expected to yield concrete outcomes to fast-track West Africa’s integration agenda, regarded as critical to regional peace, security, and prosperity.
Olusola Akintonde