Africa must change its relationship with Europe if it wants to become self-reliant and exploit rich resources that could transform the continent, Ghana ‘s president has said.
“Africa and Europe are natural partners … but [it’s] a relationship that has to be different from what we’ve had up to now,” Nana Akufo-Addo said on Thursday following talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
His remarks were made in an address to 400 representatives of the African diaspora in France who gathered at the Elysee palace in Paris.
“That relationship has enriched Europe but has not enriched Africa. So, we need to change that dynamic and we can only do it by ourselves, taking the correct measures for our future,” said Akufo-Addo.
“We have to get away from the idea that there is some Father Christmas who’s going to come and develop our continent for us. There is no Father Christmas, there is just us,” he said.
“So, Mr President, we’re saying the time has come for us to take our destiny in our own hands,” he said, directly addressing Macron.
A former British colony, Ghana does not have the same historical ties with Paris as other former French colonies in West Africa. When Macron visited Ghana in November 2017, it was the first visit by a French president.
