Speaking under the umbrellas of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Fayemi called for an end to the post-Cold War era where Africa merely received rules written by others.

Stated in statement titled: Africa–West Relations at a Turning Point: Interests, Agency, and a New Bargain through Ideas Indaba platform, the shift comes as three global forces—strategic competition between world powers, the race for green energy minerals, and Africa’s exploding demographic weight—give the continent’s 54 nations a leverage.

Fayemi argued that Africa is no longer a “charity case” but a “strategic asset” that must now help design the new geopolitical architecture or risk being left behind again.

With one in four people on Earth projected to be African by 2050, the professor warned that the old “paternalistic logic” of Western engagement is dismantling.

He insisted that for a “new bargain” to succeed, the West must move away from treating development aid as generosity and instead treat Africa as a sovereign equal in a world that “cannot go green without first going African.”

The three forces of leverage

The statement he emphasizes that the West—specifically Europe and North America—can no longer operate in a “unipolar comfort zone.” The rise of China, Russia’s revisionism, and the assertiveness of the Global South have forced Western capitals to realize that Africa has “suitors, not just donors.”

“The green energy transition has placed Africa at the centre of the global economy in ways the extractive economy of the 20^th century never did,” Fayemi stated in statement.

He noted that essential materials for a clean energy future, such as cobalt, lithium, manganese, and copper, are largely concentrated on the continent.

Beyond minerals, the continent’s demographic shift is a mathematical reality that cannot be ignored. By 2050, Africa's working-age population will exceed that of China and India combined.

Fayemi noted that in an aging global society, Africa is the “growth engine,” a fact that fundamentally changes the “negotiating calculus.”

A failed paternalistic logic

The analysis offered a calculation of Western failures, highlighting how frameworks built in Washington, Brussels, and London have expected Africa to comply rather than co-design.

Fayemi described the current trade architecture as “particularly damaging,” noting that Africa is often “rewarded for poverty and penalised for aspiration.”

He pointed out that African governments attempting to add value to their own resources—such as refining oil or processing ore—frequently face trade barriers and political pressure. This is compounded by a debt architecture where African nations are charged risk premiums that bear no relation to actual default rates.

“The cost of capital for infrastructure in Africa is three to four times what comparable projects cost in Europe,” the statement states.

Fayemi described this as a “structural imposition” that keeps the continent in a state of fiscal vulnerability rather than a natural market outcome.

The five non-negotiables

To correct these imbalances, the statement outlines five “non-negotiables” for future partnership.

The first is a demand for “value addition and beneficiation.” According to the statement, Africa will no longer accept its resources leaving as raw commodities only to return as expensive finished imports.

Fayemi proposed the creation of an “African Minerals Consortium,” modeled after OPEC, to ensure fair pricing and local community participation.

“This is not anti-Western sentiment — it is basic economic logic,” he said.

The second priority is sovereign debt reform. Fayemi highlighted that over $88 billion in illicit financial flows were trapped in 2024 alone.

He remarked, “Africa is not capital starved; Africa is capital trapped,” calling for an end to the “punishing premiums that make it cheaper to borrow in Paris than in Lagos.”

Thirdly, the continent is demanding a “genuine technology partnership.” As AI and digital infrastructure reshape global productivity, Africa refuses to be a “passive consumer.” The goal is “data sovereignty, capacity for digital industrialisation,” and a voice in the governance frameworks of the next technological age.

The fourth and fifth points focus on labor migration and the right to determine development pathways.

Fayemi called for “well managed migration” that benefits both origin and destination countries.

He insisted that “development conditionalities” must give way to partnerships where African institutions lead African solutions.

Africa’s internal responsibility

However, the statement was equally critical of Africa’s own internal failings. Fayemi admitted that the continent’s negotiating weakness is often “self-inflicted.”

He noted that African nations frequently arrive at global summits divided, “speaking in fifty-four competing voices, making it easy for partners to play us against each other.”

While the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) exists on paper, its implementation remains slow.

Fayemi warned that “we cannot demand to be treated as a bloc if we do not act as one.”

He also stressed that Africa must build its own “institutional depth — the analytical capacity, the negotiating expertise, the legal architecture — is not optional. It is the precondition for sovereign agency.”

The blueprint for change

A new bargain would require a “fundamental renegotiation” of Economic Partnership Agreements. This means moving toward industrial partnerships that incentivize manufacturing and skills transfer.

Fayemi also called on Europe to reform “lopsided partnership agreements such as the ones signed by many coastal states that deplete our oceans, marine life, and community livelihoods, compounding the migration crisis.”

In terms of security, the statement demands an end to arrangements where African countries pay for security cooperation with political compliance. Instead, security partnerships must be transparent mutually accountable, and consistent with African sovereignty and the decisions of the African Union.