Lagos (Nigeria) --The former President of Ghana, John Kufuor, has blamed the underdevelopment of the African region on the leadership crisis bedevilling the continent.

Kufuor told journalists on Friday in Lagos that the sit tight attitude of some African leaders was "unfortunate".

He was, however, optimistic that the leadership difficulties the continent was facing would soon be a thing of the past.

“It’s always unfortunate that there is crisis of leadership in Africa, but I will say in overall, that I believe Africa is making a head way to solve the problem.

“It will take time, it is a process. Africa is integrating from more difficult times into better times ahead,” he said.

Kufuor said that Ghana would guard against running into challenges in exploiting its petroleum resources as some African countries had experienced.

Kufuor said the discovery of oil in Ghana would be a blessing to it rather than a curse.