Africa must not become a “geostrategic battleground”, stated Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, on Thursday, at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity subsequently known as the African Union.

“In this zero-sum game where the gains of others would translate into losses for Africa, we must resist all forms of instrumentalisation of our member states,” expressed the AU Chairperson.

Several African leaders, such as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took to the podium to share their thoughts on the ongoing issues the continent is facing. Amongst them, poor leadership, corruption, poverty, war and grim external influences.

“Can we proclaim we are free when our people are still in the grips of poverty and our systems are shocked by corruption, ineptness and indifference? Can we yet assert independence while we seek beyond ourselves and our continental borders to deliver us from the challenges we are faced with?”