Be disciplined, the era of free money is gone - Adesina tells African nations

The African Development Bank (AfDB) president, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has challenged African nations to overhaul their approach to achieving growth and creating wealth and devise an independent, sustainable model.

Adesina, who delivered a speech as the Special Guest Lecturer at the 14th Convocation lecture of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Abuja on Friday, April 11, 2025, said Africans need to buckle up “because the era of aid and free money is gone.”

He observed that African countries have depended on aid and loans from developed countries and institutions to drive growth and development for many years, warning that such is no longer sustainable.

“African countries must now learn to develop via investment discipline; countries can no longer rely on aid for growth or count it as part of government revenue, as has been the case for decades. Benevolence is not an asset class," he said.

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The AfDB President canvassed for aggressive measures for countries on the continent to expand domestic resource mobilisation, noting that such efforts must go beyond simply increasing taxes.

Adesina further advised nations to be strict and transparent about managing and accounting for the continent's vast natural resources.

“More aggressive measures are needed for countries to expand domestic resource mobilisation. This needs to go beyond simply increasing taxes. Countries must have stricter and more transparent management and accountability over the vast natural resources on the continent.

"This must include fair pricing of assets, the payment of the right values for royalties and taxes by international corporations, as well as reducing leakages via inefficiencies, corruption and illicit capital flows,” he said.

On the impact of United States President Donald Trump's tariffs on Africa, Adesina highlighted that 47 out of 54 African countries were placed on higher tariffs, predicting a significant reduction in exports and foreign exchange availability.

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“This will send other shock waves through African economies. Local currencies will weaken on the back of reduced foreign exchange earnings. Inflation will increase as costs of imported goods rise and currencies devalued against the US dollar. The cost of servicing debt as a share of government revenue will rise as expected revenue declines,” he said.

“These global tariffs will also have significant indirect effects on Africa as its exports to developed countries such as China and others in Europe and Asia will buy goods from Africa, which will affect Africa’s export revenues."

The AfDB President, who advised African countries against engaging in a tariff war with the US, said, “What is needed is more trade with Africa from the US,” adding that the current dynamics call for a recalibration of the trade and investment opportunities between the US and the continent.