Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has called on African leaders to undertake what he describes as an honest introspection into the underlying causes of conflicts across the continent; leading to unemployment and mass migration.
According to him, Africa must urgently end what he described as the normalisation of conflict and extremism if the continent is to achieve its vision of a transformed future.
In a post shared on X on August 30, 2026, Ablakwa said he made the call when he addressed the African Union Executive Council's extraordinary meeting on Conflict Resolution and Prevention in Angola.
"Yesterday I addressed the African Union Executive Council's extraordinary meeting on Conflict Resolution and Prevention in Angola," he said.
Ablakwa said his presentation urged African leaders to focus on the fundamental factors that continue to fuel instability and conflict across the continent.
He identified injustice, limited opportunities for young people, underdevelopment, corruption, resource exploitation, intolerance and insincerity as some of the key drivers of conflict.
The Foreign Affairs Minister also cautioned against African countries becoming pawns for proxy forces.
"I called for an honest introspection on the real causes of conflict," he stated.
"I demanded an immediate end to the normalization of conflict and extremism on the continent, particularly as we are running out of time in creating a new and transformed Africa," he stressed.
Ablakwa further urged African leaders to redirect resources used in financing conflicts towards creating employment opportunities, particularly for the continent's growing youth population.
He said recent scenes involving thousands of young Africans attempting to cross into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, should serve as a reminder of the urgent need to address unemployment and other factors driving migration.
"I reminded colleague African Foreign Ministers that the recent depressing images from the avalanche of over 72,000 young Africans who breached fences to enter Ceuta in Spain should bring home the urgency of silencing the guns and an imperative to divert resources from funding conflicts to creating jobs," he said.
The minister stressed the need for African leaders to move beyond addressing the symptoms of conflict and instead confront the underlying conditions that continue to breed instability across the continent.
Yesterday I addressed the African Union Executive Council’s extraordinary meeting on Conflict Resolution and Prevention in Angola.
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) August 30, 2026
I called for an honest introspection on the real causes of conflict.
I demanded an immediate end to the normalization of conflict and extremism… pic.twitter.com/sQlRKtxaDv
