Onyekachi Eze 
2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said that Africa requires transformative change to withstand the tariff regime of United States (US) President, Donald Trump.
Obi, who spoke on Tuesday in London at the plenary session of the 2025 Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) Trade and Investment Summit, lamented that Africa had pursued economic convergence in the past by adopting Western political and economic institutions without focusing on productivity and human capital development.
In a statement issued by the spokesperson of the Peter Obi media office, Ibrahim Umar, the former Anambra State Governor emphasized the urgent need to rebuild African economies through new leadership focused on rapid upgrades in productive capacities, especially in innovative education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation.
Speaking on the topic “Africa’s Role in the New Global Economy,” Obi advised African leaders to invest in the continent’s vast youthful human capital, which represents a workforce of over a billion people.
He noted that while many Countries have responded proactively to Trump’s trade tariffs to protect their economies, Africa has largely failed to do so.
Despite its vast potential, Obi observed that Africa’s share of global trade remains low, standing at just 2–3 percent, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“Our share of the global GDP is about three percent. Africa’s GDP per capita is even worse, at $1,900, compared to Asia’s average of around $9,000,” he said.
Obi pointed out that Africa’s global trade and GDP figures have remained stagnant for over two decades, despite being the world’s second-largest and most populous continent with approximately 1.5 billion people.
“Africa is home to the most youthful and dynamic workforce, with the largest concentration of working-age individuals—about one billion people.
“The continent boasts abundant natural resources, including nearly a billion hectares of uncultivated arable land. Africa holds over 60 percent of the world’s arable land and about 30 percent of global mineral resources.”
He lamented that Africa failed to benefit significantly from globalisation 2.0, but stressed that the continent must now take deliberate steps to profit from emerging global trade systems under a potential second Trump presidency.
He said the key lies in investing in the continent’s youthful population to create a skilled and productive workforce.
Obi also highlighted the potential in Africa’s agricultural sector, noting that the continent’s food and agriculture market, currently valued at about $280 billion annually, is projected to grow to over $1 trillion by 2030.
“This shows that, with agriculture at the core of Africa’s economic transformation, the continent has the potential to become a global agricultural powerhouse and a net exporter of food—contributing meaningfully to the new global economy.”
“What is missing is the leadership that can reorder priorities and scale up productivity so that African countries can move up the value chain,” he said.
Obi added that some well-governed African countries have demonstrated the possibility of higher-value production, but the challenge remains in scaling and sustaining innovation across the region.
“We need to produce more goods and services that the world needs and be smart enough to leverage whatever global trade arrangement emerges from Mr. Trump’s disruption,” he concluded.
