Building Africa’s Financial Bond on Cardoso’s Call

By Lawal Dahiru Mamman 

At a time when the global economy is increasingly fragmented, Africa is being presented with a rare opportunity to turn inward, unite its economic forces, and chart a transformative path through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

And at the heart of this vision stands the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, whose message at the 32nd Annual Meetings of Afreximbank was as bold as it was urgent — Africa must bond or be left behind.

Cardoso’s remarks at the Afreximbank summit in Abuja echoed a growing realization. The sustainability of economic relationships across Africa should not be a political or ideological necessity, but a financial imperative.

As he emphasized, “To secure the future we envision, we must foster greater strategic cohesion among African member states.”

His rallying call transcended institutional applause. It cut to the core of what AfCFTA was created to achieve, a unified African market that grows local industries, trades internally, attracts foreign investment, and speaks in one economic voice on the global stage.

One of the highlights of Cardoso’s speech was his deep recognition of the strategic role Afreximbank has played in facilitating trade and funding across African borders. Nigeria alone, he revealed, has secured over $52 billion in trade and project financing from the bank in the past decade.

This is not just a number it is the embodiment of a relationship-based approach to finance, where African countries support each other in a mutually reinforcing cycle of growth.

Such model of partnership is beyond Nigeria and Afreximbank. It is a template for how Africa can grow not by competition, but by collaboration. Cardoso’s narrative advanced a clear truth, when African economies are financially bonded, the prosperity of one can trigger a ripple of opportunity across the continent.

Moreover, Afreximbank’s staggering growth from a humble $750 million capital base to over $40 billion showcases what African financial institutions can achieve when backed by vision, trust, and regional support.

But Cardoso was not looking inward only. His introduction of two new diaspora investment accounts – the Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account and the Non-Resident Nigerian Investment Account — is a strategic pivot to leverage Africa’s extended economic family abroad.

These instruments are more than bank accounts. They are financial bridges between continents , offering millions of Africans in the diaspora a structured channel to invest, participate, and contribute to national and continental development.

In a world where remittances have become lifelines for many developing economies, Africa stands to gain not just funds, but expertise, networks, and global influence from its diaspora. Cardoso’s call is that Africans abroad are no longer just senders of money they are partners in economic rebirth.

With protectionism rising and geopolitical uncertainties shaking global markets, Africa must solidify its place in the global economy not just as a resource hub, but as a self-determined financial bloc and this why that CBN governor at the summit also called for digital transformation, green growth, food and energy sovereignty, and private sector-led innovation, reflecting the forward-thinking policy the continent needs to thrive.

A financially connected Africa, with deep intra-continental partnerships and strong diaspora links, does more than serve its own development. It adds value to the global financial space. A stable, integrated Africa contributes to the stability of global markets, opens new investment corridors, and expands the consumer base of global industries.

Cardoso’s message to African leaders and institutions was unambiguous. Dreaming big is no longer enough. Delivering big is the next step.

As the CBN steers Nigeria toward stronger capital adequacy, regulatory reforms, and diaspora inclusion, it is also setting the tone for a continental movement one where relationships among African nations are the bedrock of financial security, mutual growth, and global influence.

If Africa is to secure its financial future and redefine its place in the world economy, unity won’t just be a slogan. It will be the most valuable currency of all.