BTA Admin Renowned private legal practitioner Ace Anan Ankomah has issued a bold challenge to African governments to dismantle—not police—the continent’s borders.
Speaking at the closing session of the 2026 Africa Prosperity Dialogues on Thursday, the senior partner at Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah said Africa must confront the structural barriers imposed during colonial rule that continue to stifle trade, innovation, and economic integration.
“The time has come to tear down the borders imposed on us,” he said, warning that Africa’s current approach reflects fragmentation rather than sovereignty.
‘This is not sovereignty — it is fragmentation’
Mr Ankomah criticised African states for tightly policing borders against fellow Africans while allowing foreign interests relatively easy access to extract the continent’s vast natural resources.
“This is not sovereignty. It is fragmentation masquerading as independence,” he said.
He traced the roots of Africa’s divisions to the 1884–85 Berlin Conference, where European powers partitioned the continent without African representation—an act he said continues to distort Africa’s development trajectory more than a century later.
“Generations later, the brutal consequences of colonialism remain painfully visible: small states, divided markets, chronic insecurity, civil wars, deep poverty—alongside extraordinary natural wealth that others extract and monetise far better than we do,” he noted.
Borders remain barriers despite ECOWAS protocols
Illustrating the cost of weak regional integration, Mr Ankomah recounted a journey from Accra to Lomé, a drive of barely three hours, which required navigating roughly eight separate documents, including passports, insurance, health cards and vehicle permits.
These hurdles persist despite the 50-year-old ECOWAS protocol guaranteeing free movement of persons, residence and establishment among member states.
According to him, the failure to operationalise such agreements undermines regional trade, raises transaction costs and discourages cross-border enterprise.
“Let’s tear down these borders, boundaries and barriers to unlock Africa’s prosperity,” he urged.
Self-reliance, science and value creation
Mr Ankomah said dismantling artificial borders must be matched with a new development framework built on self-reliance, scientific thinking and value-adding industries.
He challenged Africans to stop positioning themselves as passive participants in global systems designed elsewhere.
“We do not need to be at someone else’s table. We do not need to be on someone else’s menu. We can and must build our own table. We can and must write our own menu,” he said.
Warning on industrial revolutions
The legal practitioner warned that Africa risks missing out on both the Fourth Industrial Revolution—driven by artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced manufacturing—and the emerging Fifth Industrial Revolution, which emphasises human-centric innovation and sustainability.
“Africa might have missed the first three industrial revolutions. But now we stand at a dangerous crossroads,” he said, adding that the continent faces the real danger of falling behind again.
Still, he expressed optimism that technology offers Africa a historic opportunity to leapfrog decades of delay by adopting homegrown solutions rather than importing “ill-fitting ideas designed for other societies.”
Unlocking innovation trapped in universities
Mr Ankomah argued that many of Africa’s science, technology and engineering solutions already exist—but are buried in university research projects and academic archives.
He called on governments to create systematic innovation incubators that connect universities with industry, capital and policy support.
“African governments must act as facilitators—creating incubators on every campus, protecting intellectual property, patenting inventions, and turning research into enterprise,” he said.
He stressed that science and engineering must become attractive, respected and financially rewarding, especially for Africa’s growing youth population.
With Africa’s population projected to reach 1.6 billion, Mr Ankomah said urgency was critical.
“It must never be said that every major civilisation conquered poverty—except Africa,” he concluded.
