“What is happening to Africa right now is that the prices of whatever we produce are determined by the people buying them from us. When they process, they determine the prices at which we’re buying from them. Africa must produce or perish. That’s the problem.
Omoyele Sowore, presidential aspirant and publisher of SaharaReporters, has warned the rest of the continent: Africa must produce or perish.
Sowore said this on Thursday while being interviewed on eTV — South Africa’s first and only privately-owned free-to-air television station.
The interviewer asked him how he would improve trade relations between South Africa and Nigeria, saying: “As we see, currently, South Africa exports 6.4billion rand but Nigeria imports 30.4 billion rand into South Africa. So how do you then take that to the next level?”
Responding, Sowore said: “So, let me tell you, we are your big brothers, not just to South Africa but Nigeria should be a big brother to the entire African continent. And Africa recognizes that.
“And what I say about Nigeria is that it’s not just about personal relationships in trade. It’s that the humanity of Africans must be taken by Nigeria to the next level. That is to say it’s not just about import and export alone, but about the humanity that binds us together, about how we can position Africa to be a major player within the international trade system, so that Africa is not just a mining site where people come in, mine, and leave the continent in ruins, but Africa is such a place that Nigeria can play the role of connecting and integrating, because without an integration we cannot be a big continent in the international market.
“What is happening to Africa right now is that the prices of whatever we produce are determined by the people buying them from us. When they process, they determine the prices at which we’re buying from them. Africa must produce or perish. That’s the problem. And Nigeria should lead that; and that is where South Africa will come in. It’s not about South Africa alone, it’s about Sudan, it’s about Congo; it’s about all of Africa. And that is where we are important. It is the reason why the entire African continent must look up to what is happening to Nigeria next year, because it affects our progress as a continent.”