Africa Can No Longer Rely On Aids For Development – Shettima

Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that Africa’s development challenges can no longer be financed solely by aid. He recently had his say while speaking at the Africa Social Impact Summit 2026 High-Level Policy Engagement held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

According to him, there is a clear need for strategic collaboration among the government, private sector and development partners to accelerate Nigeria’s development agenda.

Shettima then hailed President Bola Tinubu for initiating reforms aimed at turning around the nation’s fortunes.

His words, “Government alone cannot solve Africa’s development challenges. For decades, development was framed primarily as expenditure.

Our responsibility today is to reframe it as an investment, investment in human capital, investment in productive systems, investment in climate resilience, digital infrastructure and inclusive markets.

The future of this continent will not be financed by aid alone. It will be financed by patient capital, catalytic capital, blended finance and private enterprise deployed at scale and guided by impact.

Impact investing is not charity with better branding. It is strategic capitalism. It is capitalism that recognises that long-term returns depend on stable societies, educated workforce, healthy populations, resilient communities and sustainable ecosystems.

His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, has, without doubt, begun the work of turning the fortunes of this nation around. Yet no government, however committed, can finance or execute this agenda alone.

For decades, development was framed primarily as expenditure. Our responsibility today is to reframe it as an investment—investment in human capital, investment in productive systems, investment in climate resilience, digital infrastructure and inclusive markets.

The stakes are too high for fragmentation. Progress demands a coalition. We have come to a shared realisation that development is not done by people. It is built with them.”

WOW.