It is indeed a great honor for me to have the opportunity of welcoming this assembly of distinguished African Leaders and Pace setters from various fields of human endeavour. This gathering of men and women who are committed to making Africa a better place for future generations of our people is a milestone in the quest for the African renaissance. I would therefore like to express my sincere appreciation to all of you who are participating at this Summit on African leadership. It is a proof of your belief in the African Project.
Africa is a continent of promise. It is a land blessed by the Almighty, and until we are able to take ownership of it, harness our strengths, talk more to each other than outsiders, open our doors to free cross border trade and make the continual development of Africa’s human capital a priority, we would not be able to fully realize our potentials. For although the issues confronting us today as a people are global; our challenges are peculiar. Leadership must therefore rise to the challenge of nation building and we must all join hands to make our society a better place.
The African Business Roundtable (ABR) and NEPAD Business Group, two institutions which I also have the benefit of leading are focused on promoting private enterprise growth and sustainable development in the continent. We strongly emphasize partnerships in all ramifications, be it between Government and Businesses or Business to Business, as we need to build platforms for dialogue and advocacy for improved business environment, business networking and sharing of best practices.
Allow me also to use this opportunity to appreciate the efforts of the management team of African Leadership magazine who have painstakingly put together the nitty gritty of this event. They have shown commitment of good Leadership in Africa from Abuja to New York, Nairobi to London, Monrovia to Stockholm, Accra to Paris, the message have been consistent “Leadership must take the lead in the bid for sustainable development in Africa”.
In this regards, it is therefore heartwarming to find you here today. It is a testimony that you love Africa and Africa loves you. I therefore want to congratulate all participants at this event and urge you to show light to our rising continent. And to all those who shall be receiving the prestigious African Leadership Awards in one category or the other, I say congratulations. Please accept your award as a call to greater commitments and responsibility
Once again, I bid you a warm welcome
Thank you
Dr. Bamanga Tukur, CON
Chairman, African Leadership Advisory Board,
President, African Business Round Table &
Chairman, NEPAD Business Group
