Africa is not a chessboard for foreign powers – Mahama

Speaking at the Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, on Saturday, October 24, Mahama said competition over resources, weak governance and external interference were contributing to conflicts across the continent.

He cited conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where fighting is linked to competition over gold and strategic minerals, including coltan and cobalt.

“External powers, from the East, the West, and the Gulf, are actively seeking leverage, access, and client states on our soil.

“Let me be clear: Africa is not an empty chessboard for foreign powers to play their games. We are not spectators. But unless we consciously decide to take up the pen and write our own script, someone else will write it for us, and we will not like how the story ends.” he said.

Mahama also identified governance failures in Somalia, the marginalisation of young people in Mozambique’s gas-rich Cabo Delgado region, and divisions between ECOWAS and the Alliance of Sahel States as factors undermining regional security.

He further warned that the growing use of commercial drones by armed groups was making conflicts deadlier.

The President urged African leaders to strengthen cooperation and take greater control of the continent’s resources and security priorities.

He cautioned that failure to do so would leave Africa’s future increasingly shaped by external interests.

“Armed groups and non-state actors have mastered the commercial drone—cheap, accessible, and deadly. In Sudan alone, these low-cost flying weapons accounted for the vast majority of civilian casualties early this year” he added.