Immediate past President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, on Thursday called for cooperation among African nations to tackle their challenges.
Akufo-Addo made this call at a book launch in Abuja in honour of a former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida.
He said African nations should not rely on foreign aid for survival, arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic made some nations to be independent.
“In international relations, there is no such thing as charity.” Nobody will give you vaccines until everyone’s needs are met, he said.
Therefore, African nations must work together and not rely on aid from the international community. That is why Senegal, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, and others have taken the responsibility of manufacturing their own vaccines”.
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According to Akufo-Addo, the pandemic taught the world several lessons, including the need for global leaders to “admit the urgency of the infrastructural deficiency in our countries, especially in the health sector, as was exposed by the pandemic”.
He noted that the pandemic also made it possible for governments to start a program that involved the construction of hospitals for the populace.
COVID-19, a respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was first identified in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, and led to a global pandemic.
Several leaders including President Bola Tinubu, ex-president Goodluck, former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalami Abubakar among others attended the event.
In his remarks, Jonathan praised former military chief Ibrahim Babangida for the publication of his memoir and said that the former’s account of Nigeria’s history was incomplete without his.
“So, Ibrahim Bagandiga as we all know, is one of the most charismatic leaders in this country. People today appear to be making a pilgrimage to see him because of him. At the ceremony, which also serves as the opening of Babangida’s presidential library, Jonathan praised God for giving him that grace and wisdom to continue mentoring people.
Source: Channels TV
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