2025 Tutu Fellow Alex Tsado wrote this essay during his 2025 Leadership Programme participation. In it, he argues that, for an evolution of African leadership to address deeply-entrenched systemic challenges, to occur, leadership must cultivate a strategic awareness to counter external interventions that aim to maintain the continent's role as a raw resource exporter.

For the last two centuries, the role of the African continent has been narrowly defined within a global system that desperately wants it to remain unchanged. Systemic and deeply entrenched steps were taken to ensure Africa's primary function was to export human and mineral resources in their rawest forms, while simultaneously serving as a market for finished goods and services produced elsewhere.

This economic model has been reinforced through deliberate policies, such as the surprising zero-percent tariffs on raw African exports, which stand in stark contrast to the over twenty-percent tariffs levied on the same products once Africa attempts to add value. This disparity has made it incredibly difficult to attract the investment necessary for developing local manufacturing and industrial capacity. It is with this historical context and the understanding of this manufactured reality that we must begin to explore the key challenges and opportunities for an evolved African leadership in this pivotal age. The path forward is not one of denial but of a clear-eyed recognition of these systemic forces and a commitment to strategic, proactive change.

Navigating a World of Derailed Interventions

The first and most critical evolution required of new African leadership is a fundamental shift from naivety to strategic awareness when it comes to international interventions. While Africa grapples with serious domestic challenges, any genuine attempt to address these issues inevitably sends ripples through the global economy. Improved conditions in an African nation—such as the decision to process minerals locally—are often interpreted as a negative economic consequence for countries in the Global North, which have long profited from the status quo. In response, these international actors often go to extraordinary lengths to prevent progressive change.

A compelling recent example is Zimbabwe's commendable move to ban the export of raw lithium to encourage local value addition. In what appears to be a direct response, a nation like Britain, which is also developing its own lithium manufacturing capabilities, suddenly shifted its long-standing critical stance on Zimbabwe's human rights record. The offer of a billion dollars in funds under these circumstances looks less like foreign aid and more like a thinly-veiled bribe designed to appease the elite and halt the development of a local value-added mineral industry. In more extreme cases, where such incentives are rejected, we have seen external forces take things as far as orchestrating the elimination of a nation's president, as was the case with Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.

New African leaders cannot afford to operate with the same willful ignorance that characterized the past. They must come into office with a pre-existing plan for navigating this incredible pressure. This plan must be multi-layered, anticipating both financial inducements and destabilizing tactics. It requires forming alliances, building robust internal support, and communicating transparently with citizens about the external forces at play. A leader who fails to account for this reality will find their progressive plans dead on arrival. The evolution of this leadership means moving from a reactive position to a proactive one, understanding that the greatest threats to national development often come from outside, disguised as concern or aid.

The Imperative of Pre-Office Training

Historically, the path to power for many African leaders has been paved by the size of their bank accounts and their ability to convince a small circle of elites that it is "their time to rule." This system, which prioritizes influence over competence, has consistently placed individuals in positions of immense responsibility without the foundational, multi-faceted understanding required to lead a modern nation. The tragic result is often a leadership that lacks a strong grasp of economics, public policy, and the complex interconnectedness of national and global systems. Leaders like Nigeria's President Buhari, though well-intentioned, serve as powerful examples of how such unprepared leadership can set a country back for decades. The decisions made by an unprepared leader can have long-lasting, detrimental effects on a nation's economy, infrastructure, and social fabric.

The evolution of African leadership demands that this cycle be broken. Attaining a leadership position should not be a matter of social standing or financial clout, but of proven preparedness. Programs like Oby Ezekwesili’s School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) offer a critical model for this new paradigm. They provide future leaders with the holistic, interdisciplinary training necessary to understand the nuances of governance, from macroeconomics to community development. Making such programs a prerequisite for holding public office would be a revolutionary step. It would ensure that the leaders of tomorrow are not only passionate but also equipped with the intellectual tools and practical skills to tackle the continent's most pressing challenges. This is not about gatekeeping; it is about building a merit-based system that values competence and strategic foresight, creating a new generation of leaders who can navigate complexity with confidence and deliver tangible results for their people.

Leveraging the Power of Multipolarism

For decades, the global political and economic landscape has been dominated by a unipolar order led by the USA, leaving many African nations with limited options and a weak hand in negotiations. In this environment, a nation’s development agenda was often subject to the whims and conditionalities of a single dominant power. However, the world is now shifting towards a more multipolar structure, presenting an unprecedented opportunity for Africa to improve its bargaining position.

An evolved African leadership must recognize and skillfully leverage this change. Instead of being forced into one-sided deals, leaders can now play multiple global powers against each other, demanding better terms and greater long-term benefits. Tanzania's recent mineral deal with Russia stands as a perfect illustration of this new dynamic. Unlike previous agreements that saw raw resources extracted and shipped abroad, this new deal mandated that the uranium manufacturing plants be built within Tanzania. Even more critically, it included a provision for comprehensive expertise transfer, ensuring that local Tanzanians would become the experts, not just the laborers. This is a game-changing approach that turns a simple resource extraction deal into a vehicle for industrialization, job creation, and sustainable development.

This kind of strategic negotiation requires a leader with a deep understanding of global power dynamics and a clear, unwavering vision for their country's economic future. They must be willing to walk away from a bad deal and hold out for one that serves the long-term interests of their nation. This is not about being anti-Western or anti-Eastern; it is about being pro-African. It is about seizing the moment of global realignment to demand a seat at the table, not just a place on the menu.

The AI Opportunity: Doing More with Less

One of the most significant challenges facing Africa is its rapidly growing population, which places immense strain on traditional infrastructure. Building enough hospitals, schools, and training enough doctors and teachers at the required pace seems like an impossible task. However, an evolved leadership must see this not as an insurmountable obstacle but as a prime opportunity to leapfrog past old models and embrace new technologies.

Artificial Intelligence provides the power to do more with less, but it requires a seed investment to unlock its potential. This investment is needed for foundational elements like GPU compute infrastructure, talent training, and data gathering. Once these initial investments are made, the applications are transformative. AI can be applied to key sectors to meet people’s needs at a fraction of the cost of traditional infrastructure. For example, AI-powered tools on mobile phones and other edge devices can bring basic services to both urban and rural centers, from medical information and preliminary diagnoses to personalized education at scale. This democratization of access can empower millions who would otherwise be left behind by a lack of physical infrastructure.

Similarly, AI tools can help small business teams overcome the challenges of finding dependable staff at scale, driving greater productivity and economic growth. An evolved leadership must prioritize this investment in AI not as a luxury, but as a core component of its national development strategy. It means creating a policy framework that unlocks capital for this foundational AI infrastructure investment, and encourages innovation, protects data, and ensures that the benefits of this technology are distributed equitably across the population. This is about using technology not just to enhance but to fundamentally rethink how services are delivered.

The Strength of Coalitions, Small and Large

While the grand vision of a fully united Africa and its global diaspora remains the ultimate dream—one that would provide the continent with unparalleled economic and political returns—new leaders must also be pragmatic. The path to this ultimate goal can be paved by forming smaller, more manageable coalitions as a stepping stone. These smaller alliances can serve as laboratories for cooperation, building trust and demonstrating the tangible benefits of collective action.

The Sahel states of West Africa offer a powerful contemporary example of this evolving approach. Faced with shared security, economic, and political challenges, these nations are moving to redefine their own banking structures, develop their own approaches to governance, and prioritize the local development of goods and services. By working together, they can create internal markets, share expertise, and present a more unified front to the outside world than any single nation could on its own. These regional coalitions are not just about security; they are about building the institutional muscles necessary for future, larger-scale integration. They are a practical demonstration of what is possible when nations choose solidarity over isolation.

A second example is in the private sector, where I have worked with several others to create the Africa Green Compute Coalition (AGCC), an association of vendors in the Africa AI ecosystem working together to increase efficiencies, increase standards and provide holistic solutions for governments and large enterprise ready to implement their AI strategies. The absence of a coalition like this has led most African AI initiatives to stall after policy or strategy creation, as they have little direction on how to implement, or can’t match the exorbitant prices and demands of large foreign suppliers.

An evolved leadership understands that collective strength is the most effective antidote to external pressure. A coalition of nations and companies can collectively resist pressure to export raw materials, negotiate better terms in global markets, and build a more resilient, self-sufficient economic block. The dream of pan-African unity is not a fantasy; it is the logical culmination of a series of smaller, strategic partnerships forged by a leadership committed to a shared destiny.

Reclaiming the Mindset and Economics

An evolved leadership must address the deep-seated psychological and economic legacies of colonialism. The first step is a fundamental shift in mindset, beginning with education. The current education system often perpetuates a colonial mentality, implicitly suggesting that all solutions, ideas, and standards of excellence must come from outside Africa. A new leadership must champion an education system that seeks to indoctrinate—in the most positive sense of the word—its citizens from an early age. This education must instill a deep love and understanding of who they are, celebrate the great things their ancestors did, acknowledge the mistakes they made, teach them how they got to this point, and, most importantly, buy them into contributing towards a better future.

This new mindset must also recognize and value indigenous knowledge. A powerful example is in climate adaptation. For centuries, African communities have developed unique, time-tested methods and a deep understanding of their local ecosystems to cope with a changing environment. Instead of solely relying on foreign research, an evolved leadership must invest in this indigenous knowledge, bringing local thinkers and traditional practitioners into the research process. This approach can lead to the creation of innovative climate adaptation solutions that not only save the continent but also attract global interest, positioning Africa as a market leader in a critical field.

On the economic front, this mindset shift translates into a singular focus on enabling local businesses to thrive. The one key metric for any progressive government should be its annual effort to improve the "ease of doing business." Countries that have made this a priority have consistently shown a direct and measurable increase in economic and social conditions. This means cutting bureaucratic red tape, simplifying tax codes, providing access to credit, and protecting local industries from unfair competition. A leadership that empowers its local entrepreneurs is one that builds a resilient, self-sufficient, and dynamic economy from the ground up.

Confronting Public Project Failures

One of the most corrosive forces undermining Africa’s economic development is the endemic failure of government projects. In Nigeria for example, a staggering 70% of government projects get delayed and abandoned, and this failure is overwhelmingly due to corruption. These projects are often plagued by inflated prices, with contracts being awarded not to the most competent vendor but to the one who agrees to pay the largest kickback to public servants. This siphons off precious public funds, leaves citizens with incomplete or substandard infrastructure, and erodes public trust.

This is the single largest channel of economic loss for the continent. It is also a dangerous problem to attempt to solve especially in a democracy, as the entire system is entrenched and its ability to fightback is mighty. A very unique breed of leader is needed to address this challenge and I am proud to have met one attempting it in my Tutu Fellowship class of 2025.

Addressing this would need a mix of diplomatic and punitive approaches, depending on the existing system of governance. The result would be a fundamental act of economic and social repair. A leadership that can consistently deliver on public projects will win the trust of its people and unlock immense potential for national development.

The Power of the People

Ultimately, the most profound evolution a leader can undertake is to find ways to increase the power and sense of ownership among the citizenry. A leader’s legacy should not be measured by the power they accumulate, but by the power they distribute. By empowering citizens, creating platforms for accountability, and strengthening democratic institutions, a leader can build a system that is far more resilient than any individual’s tenure. When citizens have a sense of ownership, when they feel their voices matter, it becomes much harder for “bad actors” to derail the system without facing serious public accountability.

This requires a leadership that is willing to be vulnerable, to listen to criticism, and to engage with the public in a meaningful way. It means investing in free press, civil society organizations, and local community councils. It is about fostering a culture where every citizen feels they have a role to play in the nation's success. This is the ultimate act of strategic foresight: building a system that can withstand the departure of even the most beloved leader, ensuring that the progress made during their term is not easily undone.

Facilitating a New Future

This necessary evolution of African leadership can be facilitated and accelerated through intentional, long-term strategies. The most powerful tools for this change are education and targeted leadership programs. By funding and expanding initiatives that provide multi-faceted training for future leaders, we can build a pipeline of competent, ethically-minded individuals ready to take on the mantle of governance. Furthermore, we must support programs that create new markets, thereby increasing the size and influence of a middle class that demands better governance and accountability. Finally, we need to fund, not just support in kind, the programs that are actively working to implement the very ideas described here—from AI for development to mindset-shifting educational initiatives. The future of Africa depends not just on the potential of its people and resources, but on the capacity of its leaders to evolve to meet the complex demands of a new age.

Essay by Alex Tsado for the 2025 Tutu Leadership Fellowship Programme.