KOROMA URGES AFRICAN LEADERS TO CONFRONT GOVERNANCE FAILURES

Sierra Leone’s former president, Ernest Bai Koroma, has challenged African leaders to confront governance failures, strengthen democratic institutions and muster the political will needed to turn the continent’s vast natural wealth into prosperity and lasting peace.
According to a statement from the Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa, Koroma argued that Africa’s abundance of natural resources has not translated into commensurate prosperity because of persistent weaknesses in leadership, resource management and institutional capacity.
“Do we have the political will to address these issues?” he asked, telling the gathering that such commitment is fundamental to building the institutions required for effective governance, security and economic transformation.
Sovereignty, the former President argued, must be demonstrated in practice rather than proclaimed. Africa, he said, cannot claim genuine independence while unable to finance its own priorities, protect its mineral wealth or process raw materials into products that generate employment and public revenue.
“We cannot be sovereign when we cannot fund ourselves. We cannot be sovereign when we cannot protect our minerals,” he said.
Koroma linked democracy directly to security, calling on governments to guarantee free and fair elections, combat corruption and establish efficient systems capable of managing national resources in the interest of their citizens.
Individual states, he added, cannot adequately confront contemporary security threats in isolation. He called for stronger regional cooperation and a more effective African Union, with regional security arrangements that help countries strengthen democratic governance, build institutional capacity and resist external pressures that exploit domestic weaknesses.
Drawing attention to the long-term human cost of war, he pointed to young people in Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, warning that conflict deprives an entire generation of education, productive opportunities and the capacity to contribute to national development.
Koroma’s intervention echoed concerns raised at the forum’s opening by Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, Chairman of the Tana Forum Board, who called for a decisive shift away from structural economic dependency towards domestic industrialisation, food and energy sovereignty, and greater African control over the continent’s development priorities. Mahama warned that intensifying geopolitical rivalries and competition for critical minerals risked turning Africa into an arena for external contestation.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed likewise urged African countries to strengthen economic sovereignty, deepen cooperation and develop homegrown solutions to global challenges, stressing that peace agreements must be honoured and supported by accountable leadership, functioning institutions and tangible improvements in people’s lives.
The forum, running from 23 to 25 October under the theme “Pathways to Peace in Africa: Economic Sovereignty and Geopolitical Transformation,” is examining how African countries can build sustainable peace while strengthening their economic independence and capacity to shape a rapidly changing international order.
For Koroma, the decisive test lies in implementation. He cautioned against allowing continental gatherings to become recurring exercises in discussion without measurable results, calling for institutions that monitor governance, assess how resources are used and ensure that commitments produce practical benefits.