Senator Athan Achonu, an agroprenuer of international repute and CEO of Numo Farms Limited was among the over two thousand delegates that attended the Afreximbank Annual Meetings from June 12-15, 2024 with the theme “Owning our Destiny: Economic Prosperity on the Platform of Global Africa.”
The three-day event which took place in The Bahamas jointly with the 3rd Afri-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) with a deep recognition of the increasing closer linkages between Africa and the Caribbean and the movement towards a Global Africa uniting Africans, their diaspora, and descendants worldwide,
Speaking to select media executives on the sideline of the AAM and ACTIF, Senator Achonu said that the Afreximbank annual meeting offers business leaders an opportunity to learn, network and contribute ideas towards the economic development of Africa. He said: “Africa belongs to all of us and it is inincreasingly pivotal for us to unite to drive economic growth, promote food security and foster sustainable development across the Africa region and the Caribbean.”
L-R: Chief Godknows Igali; HE Governor Sanwo -Olu, Governor, Lagos State; HE Prof. Osinbajo, Former Vice President of Nigeria; HE Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of Nigeria; Senator Athan Achonu, CEO, Numo Farms at the just ended 31st African Export- Import Bank (Afreximbank) Annual Meetings (AAM) being held in Nassau, The Bahamas.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Mr. Denys Denya, Senior Executive Vice President of Afreximbank, said: “For a continent that is endowed with such an abundance of natural resources, the quest for sustainable development has been a perennial struggle. The state of development across the Caribbean region, while not identical, is not quite different from this narrative. It is in this context of sustained deprivation and marginalization that we seek to unify our forces in the context of Global Africa for a better future. In our unity, we have the numbers, we have the voice to sit at the table when decisions are made. We are a viable force to influence global decisions.”
In a striking remark, Prof. Jeffery Sachs, Senior Lecturer in Economics at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, called Africans to embrace the consensus of Unity in the face of stiff competition. In his words: “You cannot operate in this world as a small country. Even the small countries that are successful are part of somebody’s world. And Africa is too big to be part of somebody’s world. It’s got to be Africa as a fundamental pillar of the world scene.”
Also speaking at the event during the plenary session on ‘A Time to Pause and Reflect: A Global Africa Vision for Afri-Caribbean Socio-Political and Economic Cooperation and Integration – Perspectives of Former Leaders’, Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, while emphasizing the need to end ilicit financial flow in Africa said charity begins at home. He said: “We have not gotten rid of illicit money. This is why our charity must begin at home. Why can’t we trade among ourselves? We must put our house in order and then act together.”
Some of the plenary sessions include topics on: “Driving Economic Transformation in Global Africa: The Role of Emerging Afri-Caribbean Giants,” “Making the African Continental Free Trade Agreement Work for Global Africa,” and “Using Industrial Transformation to Build Bridges: The Global Africa Vision and Experience of the Dangote Group.”