The Chancellor of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Dr David Oyedepo, has challenged African countries to take responsibility for their development by prioritising indigenous solutions to the continent’s numerous challenges rather than relying excessively on foreign assistance.
Oyedepo made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Ota, stressing that Africa’s path to sustainable development lies in its ability to identify, develop and deploy home-grown solutions to its peculiar challenges.
He maintained that African countries possessed the human capacity and potential to address their developmental problems, insisting that dependence on foreign intervention would continue to undermine the continent’s ability to achieve meaningful progress.
“Man is created to solve his problems wherever he is planted. Therefore, African countries should provide solutions to their challenges without constantly seeking foreign assistance,” he said.
The renowned cleric and educationist argued that Africa’s development challenges had little to do with the colour of its people’s skin, but rather with the failure to recognise and harness their inherent abilities and potential.
According to him, Africans must move away from a passive attitude towards development and embrace a culture of responsibility, innovation and purposeful action.
He identified the widespread mentality that “what will happen will happen” as one of the major obstacles to the continent’s progress, noting that such an attitude discourages proactive thinking, problem-solving and individual responsibility.
Oyedepo emphasised that the greatness of any nation was determined by the quality of contributions made by its citizens, institutions and organisations, rather than its dependence on external support.
He urged African leaders, policymakers and citizens to recognise that sustainable development could only be achieved when they collectively take ownership of their challenges and mobilise available resources and expertise to address them.
The chancellor further called for greater confidence in indigenous knowledge, local innovations and home-grown capabilities, stressing that Africa must look inward to unlock its vast potential and secure a more prosperous future.
He said the continent’s ability to transform its fortunes would depend largely on a deliberate shift from dependency to self-reliance, with locally driven solutions serving as the foundation for sustainable growth and development.
