What Should We Expect from African Leaders at the 2025 UN General Assembly?
By Musa Sunusi Ahmad:
“Africa’s story is changing. The question is, how well are our leaders telling it?”
As African leaders line up to speak at the 2025 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the world is watching, closer than ever. Global tensions are peaking, trust in international systems is fracturing, and the fight for narrative dominance is now as critical as boots on the ground.
The UNGA podium is no longer just a place for ceremonial rhetoric, it’s a global megaphone. For African heads of state, this year’s assembly is more than a diplomatic obligation. It is an urgent opportunity to reshape Africa’s image, assert its geopolitical agency, and push forward collective African interests in a world that too often speaks about Africa, rather than with it.
The Global Conflicts: Africa Cannot Be Silent
Gaza: Ripple Effects Without Borders
The ongoing war in Gaza is not a distant issue for Africa, it is igniting political, religious, and humanitarian reverberations across the continent. From North Africa to the Horn, protests, economic disruptions, and diplomatic divisions are escalating.
What we expect: African leaders must rise above polarization and call for an intentional, inclusive negotiation process, one that prioritizes peace and human dignity over partisanship. Africa must stand for mediation, not militarization.
Sudan: The Forgotten War
Amid global headlines, the devastating conflict in Sudan is slipping through the cracks. Tens of thousands dead. Millions displaced. And yet, silence.
This year’s UNGA must be a moment of renewed appeal to end the war in Sudan. African leaders should reignite continental focus, using the UN stage to galvanize support for peace talks led by African institutions, not foreign interests.
Congo: No to External Puppeteers
The conflict in eastern DRC is often framed through humanitarian lenses, but it’s fundamentally about control of resources. Gold, coltan, cobalt, Africa bleeds while outsiders profit.
Insight: African leaders must use UNGA to reject the cycle of dependency on third-party mediators whose goals may not align with Africa’s. Mediation must be African-led, African-owned, and driven by peace, not profit.
Sahel Crisis, ECOWAS & Sahel Alliance
With the rise of military juntas, the collapse of ECOWAS’ credibility, and the formation of a new Sahel Alliance, the region is in flux. The UNGA is the place to clarify Africa’s position: what kind of governance does Africa want, and how do we restore trust in regional institutions?
Nigeria, Mali, Algeria: Terror Redux
The return of Boko Haram attacks, increased kidnappings in northern Nigeria, and extremist activities in Mali and Algeria raise serious questions about Africa’s counterterrorism architecture.
Expectation: African leaders must demand renewed global cooperation without conditionalities and use the moment to advocate for homegrown security strategies, not recycled templates from abroad.
Africa’s Internal Fault Lines: Airing Our Own Truths
Morocco & Western Sahara: A Colonial Hangover
The Western Sahara dispute remains one of Africa’s longest unresolved issues. African leaders must break the diplomatic silence, advocating for a peaceful resolution in line with African Union principles, self-determination, territorial integrity, and non-interference.
Zimbabwe: Freedom Under Siege
In Zimbabwe, the political capture of institutions and increasing restrictions on freedom of speech and association pose risks to democracy. The UNGA stage must not sanitize these issues.
Leaders must hold each other accountable, behind closed doors if necessary, but with clarity of purpose: democracy must not die in silence.
South Africa: Foreign Fingers in Domestic Politics
Rising foreign interference in South African domestic affairs, often under the guise of partnerships or philanthropy, is becoming a concern. Whether it’s funding civil unrest or influencing electoral narratives, the lines are blurring.
The UNGA should serve as a warning bell, that Africa will not be a playground for geopolitical experiments.
Ethiopia, Eritrea & the GERD
The Nile remains a source of tension. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) continues to cause friction between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan. Meanwhile, unresolved tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea risk reigniting old flames.
What’s needed: A continental summit on water diplomacy, led by Africans, not external powers, must be initiated. UNGA is the time to announce it.
The Economic Landscape: A Time Bomb or a Tipping Point?
Youth Unemployment: Africa’s Quiet Emergency
With over 70% of Africa’s population under 30, the youth unemployment crisis is the continent’s most pressing long-term threat. Speeches must go beyond acknowledging this; they must present concrete collective strategies for:
– Job creation through industrialization
– Digital skills development and tech entrepreneurship
– Cross-border youth mobility and employment
Aid Cuts & Tariff Shocks: The West’s Retraction
The US aid reductions, increasing tariff regimes, and the weaponization of trade are sending economic shockwaves across Africa. The Ukraine war continues to disrupt African exports and imports, exposing fragile supply chains.
Communication opportunity: Africa must reject being collateral damage in global power struggles. Leaders must speak with one voice in demanding fair trade, inclusive reforms, and shared accountability.
Migration: A Symptom, Not a Sickness
From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, African migration continues to make headlines, often framed negatively. The real issue? Lack of opportunity at home.
Africa’s message at UNGA must be clear: The world should invest in making Africa a viable home for its youth. Not walls. Not warships. Opportunity.
Global Order Rewritten: Africa in the Crossfire
Ukraine War: An African Economic Casualty
Though distant in geography, the Russia-Ukraine war continues to impact African economies, rising food prices, fuel shortages, disrupted exports. Yet Africa is rarely invited to the decision-making table.
This year, African leaders must say: “Nothing about us, without us.”
BRICS, the U.S. & the Global Power Contest
With BRICS+ expanding and the U.S. struggling to retain influence, the world is witnessing a geopolitical realignment. But Africa should not be forced to pick sides.
Key message: Africa is a bloc of 1.4 billion people. We are not chess pieces. The U.S. must abandon the “global police” posture, and BRICS must prove its credibility. Africa will partner, but on its own terms.
Diplomacy Is the New Power
This UNGA is not about taking turns at the microphone. It’s about seizing the moment to:
– Reframe Africa’s image on the global stage
– Advocate for Africa’s peace and prosperity
– Demand respect in a world that often sidelines our voice
This is not about aid. It’s about agency.
This is not about spotlight. It’s about strategy.
And it’s time Africa speaks like the future it is.
