President John Dramani Mahama has called for a reimagining of Africa’s place in the global order, declaring boldly at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York that “the future is African.”
In his address on Thursday, September 25, President Mahama traced Africa’s historical exclusion from the founding of global institutions and contrasted it with the continent’s growing influence today.
He reminded the Assembly that Africa had little presence when the UN was formed in 1945. “Of the 51 member states involved in the founding of the United Nations, only four were African: Egypt, Ethiopia, Liberia, and South Africa,” he noted. Similarly, he said, Africa’s role in the League of Nations was “minimal and relatively unimportant” due to the continent’s colonial subjugation at the time.
Mahama tied this exclusion to the legacy of the Berlin Conference of 1884, where European powers carved up Africa without its consent. “It has famously been written that the past is prologue,” he said. “In the past, the majority of the 54 nations that now comprise Africa were never offered a seat at the table where plans for a new world order were being drawn.”
But according to him, times have changed. “As fate would have it, the tables are turning, and Africa’s role in the altered shape of whatever is yet to come for this world is going to be huge and it will be consequential,” he declared.
Citing UN projections, Mahama revealed that by 2050, Africa will be home to over a quarter of the world’s population and one-third of its young people between the ages of 15 and 24. “So you see, the future of this world is African. Allow me to say this once again, a little louder for those of you in the back, the future is African,” he emphasized to loud applause.
Beyond demographics, Mahama argued that Africa is already shaping global trends. “Africa is a catalyst for human potential and development, as well as for economic reform and ecological stability. Africa is a catalyst for systemic change,” he said.
The Ghanaian leader also challenged stereotypes about the continent, stressing that dismissive attitudes are rooted in outdated colonial and imperialist worldviews. “If this reality seems provocative or unsettling, perhaps it’s because you are viewing it through the lens of centuries of filters. Maybe you are unaware of the resilience of African nations or their remarkable ability to make a strong comeback just when you think it’s safe to count them out.”
President Mahama’s speech was both a history lesson and a rallying call, reminding the global community that Africa is not just a passive participant but an active architect of the future.
