AFRICA MUST VALUE ITSELF: KOUYATTE’S BOLD CALL FOR ACTION

Published By Jerry Adesewo Last updated Sep 28, 2026

AFRICA MUST VALUE ITSELF: KOUYATTE’S BOLD CALL FOR ACTION

By Jerry Adesewo

I had just published my analysis of a related issue when I saw Ambassador Sheikh Moutapha Kouyatte’s comment on his Facebook page. His words struck me because they went beyond the familiar language of African frustration and offered something much more provocative: action.

Kouyatte, a formet emissary of the Republic of Liberia argues that African states should boycott the United Nations General Assembly until the UN grants Africa two permanent seats on the UN Security Council.

“For over 80 years, Africa has been asking for just one seat,” he wrote. “Justice is never charity. It must be demanded through actions and deeds.”

Then came the line that, for me, captured the essence of his argument:

“Forget beautiful speeches. Take bold steps: Walk away.”

I agree with him. Not because walking away is necessarily an easy or conventional diplomatic strategy, but because Africa has spent too long making the same demand while accepting the same answer—or, more accurately, the same silence.

The issue is not new. Africa has an established common position demanding two permanent seats on the Security Council, alongside additional non-permanent seats. African governments have repeatedly made the case that a continent of more than a billion people, comprising more than 50 countries and contributing significantly to international peace and security, cannot continue to be excluded from permanent representation in the body that makes some of the world’s most consequential security decisions.

Yet the structure remains. And so does the pleading.

That is what makes Kouyatte’s intervention important. He is asking whether there comes a point when repeated appeals must give way to collective action. And I believe there does.

Africa must begin to understand that international respect is rarely secured by moral argument alone. It is secured by leverage, organisation and the willingness to deploy both.

This is not an argument for isolation. Africa does not need to abandon the international system. On the contrary, it needs to engage it more strategically. But engagement should not mean perpetual petitioning.

There is a difference between participating in a system and accepting the terms of that system indefinitely.

For decades, African leaders have stood before international audiences and spoken eloquently about reform. Presidents have demanded a fairer global order. Diplomats have issued statements. The African Union has articulated its position. Yet the continent continues to return to the same negotiating table without having fundamentally altered the balance of power around it.

Perhaps Kouyatte is right that the time has come to change the language. Not another declaration. Not another communiqué. Not another speech applauding Africa’s resilience, but an action with consequences.

His call also touches a deeper issue: Africa must value itself. That means recognising that the continent has assets that the world needs—its people, markets, natural resources, strategic minerals, agricultural potential, energy resources, and geopolitical importance.

But assets only create power when their owners understand their value and are prepared to negotiate accordingly.

Africa’s greatest weakness has often been its fragmentation. Individual countries negotiate from their own positions, frequently competing with one another for investment, influence, and strategic partnerships. The result is that what should constitute continental bargaining power becomes dispersed national bargaining power.

Kouyatte’s proposal forces us to ask a difficult question: what would happen if African countries actually acted together?

What if the continent decided that permanent representation at the Security Council was not merely an aspiration but a collective condition for continued participation in certain aspects of the international system?

Such a position would require extraordinary political courage and coordination. It would not be without risks. But that is precisely why it would command attention.

A demand without consequences can become routine. A demand backed by collective action becomes a negotiation. And this is where Africa must move. The continent does not need to shout louder. It needs to organise better. And that we have failed to do, repeatedly.

The African Union must become more than the venue where leaders repeatedly affirm positions. African governments must develop mechanisms for coordinated diplomatic action, especially on issues where their interests are fundamentally shared.

If Africa is asking for two permanent seats, then its governments should be prepared to pursue that demand collectively and consistently.

If the demand is justice, then the strategy must demonstrate the seriousness of that claim. Kouyatte’s phrase that “justice is never charity” deserves to stay with us. Africa is not asking the world to give it a gift.

It is asking for representation in an institution whose decisions directly affect African lives, territories, economies, and security. And after more than eight decades, Africa should stop behaving as though it is asking for permission to belong.

I had written in my earlier analysis about Africa’s muffled voice. Kouyatte’s intervention provides an uncomfortable but necessary follow-up. What if the voice is muffled because Africa has not yet demonstrated that it is prepared to act collectively when that voice is ignored?

The world does not need another reminder that Africa matters. Africa needs to remind itself. That is the heart of Kouyatte’s provocation. Value yourself. Organise yourself. Use your collective weight. And when beautiful speeches fail, take bold steps, because Africa cannot continue asking the world to respect its voice while refusing to demonstrate the power behind it.

Justice is not charity. And after 80 years, it is time Africa stopped asking and started acting.