By Obinna Chima
Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu, yesterday appealed to the leading candidates in the United States presidential election — Democratic Party’s Hilary Clinton and Republican Party’s Donald Trump — to retain the prevailing US-Africa policy, saying it was adequate and would only need to be expanded and scaled up.
“On US-Africa policy, some things don’t need to change,” he told his audience as the keynote speaker at the US Senator Chris Coon’s Opportunity Africa Conference 2016 in Delaware, adding: “What they need is to be expanded and scaled up. In other words, we need more US engagement in Africa through mutually beneficial trade and investment.”
He said this would be his and 200 other US and African political and business leaders, including President Obama and over 30 African presidents’ focus during next week’s US-Africa Business Forum in New York.
“We would discuss how to strengthen mutually beneficial economic ties between the African and American peoples,” the chairman of Heirs Holdings said.
Elumelu, who spoke on the theme, entrepreneurship, is one of Africa’s leading entrepreneurs, who isdedicating time and money to create a new generation of African business women and men, committing $100 million of his own money to the laudable project.
According to him, “If we give our people the economic tools to thrive and living standards increase, the political challenges that Africa face can be tackled and fundamental positive change can be assured.”
He, therefore, called on the next US president to work in shared purpose with Africans on implementing innovative solutions to the complex but surmountable challenges in Africa.
He challenged the American electorate to impress it on their candidates and the eventual president to engage more with Africa.
“So when you meet, write, call and email your political candidates and representatives and the elected president in November, tell them that when it comes to Africa, you want more. And by more, I mean more engagements, more positively impactful policies and more development and commercial investment in Africa,” Elumelu said.
Closing his address at the eventful conference, Elumelu said: “I am an unashamed optimist and I believe that working together, in shared purpose, which is what Africapitalism is about, we can help usher in economic transformation that will ensure Africa is a critical player in the 21st century global economy.”
