Nigeria’s former permanent representative to the United Nations and former Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Gambari, has stressed the need to strengthen the continent’s institutions, such as the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Speaking at the 12th-anniversary lecture and investiture into the Realnews Hall of Fame held in Lagos, yesterday, he argued that the imperative of strengthening the continent’s institutions could not be over-emphasised.

With the theme, “Africa in World Shifting Geopolitics: Matters arising on Demography, Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Natural Resources,” he added that financial institutions, like the African Development Bank (ADB) and African Export-Import Bank, should be strengthened.

He said: “We are not rejecting partnership, but a partnership in which we are real partners is what we need, not a master-servant relationship.

“The world is changing. The international community is evolving. The relationship between the global north and the global south is changing. We cannot disagree that these are times that require a lot of thinking.”

GAMBARI spoke just as the Country Representative of UN Women, Beatrice Eyong, said Gender-based violence must be tackled because it could hamper economic growth.

Eyong spoke at the Realnews 12th Anniversary Lecture, themed “Africa in Shifting Geopolitics: Matters Arising on Demography, Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and National Resources.”

According to her, gender-based violence is arising everywhere, not just domestically, but also at the workplace, in the villages, and the urban sphere.

She added that women had experienced one form of gender-based violence, and this, according to studies, has reduced productivity and affected the economy on a large scale.

Explaining that women and girls were most affected by negative changes in the country’s economy, Eyong stated: “If women can give their full potential, the economy would grow by trillions of naira.”