Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo warned at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos that African countries risk being reduced to bargaining chips in a rapidly reorganizing global economy unless they strengthen their capacity to negotiate, coordinate and execute policy at scale.
Speaking at The Accra Reset Davos Convening, a side event hosted by President John Mahama on Thursday, January 22, 2026 at the WEF, Obasanjo said the global system underpinning development finance and trade is becoming increasingly unstable, with supply chains redrawn, geopolitics fused with economics and traditional aid architecture under strain.
He said development assistance is shrinking under fiscal pressure in advanced economies, while multilateral institutions are struggling with fragmented mandates and declining trust. In such an environment, countries that lack organization and execution capacity will not merely fall behind, but will lose leverage altogether.
The future will not be given to the unprepared. It will be negotiated. It will be built. And it will belong to those who prepare, unite, and organize for it, Obasanjo said.
The Accra Reset initiative, Obasanjo said, is intended to move African leadership from complaint to construction, focusing on practical action rather than declarations. He described it as an effort to define a new resource and investment architecture capable of delivering sustained and inclusive growth.
Obasanjo echoed Mahama’s assessment that Africa remains trapped in a triple dependency on external security, donor funded social systems and raw commodity exports. That dependence, he said, weakens domestic accountability and exposes countries to external geopolitical shocks.
True sovereignty, Obasanjo argued, is not symbolic but operational. It depends on the ability to make choices, mobilize capital, negotiate firmly and implement decisions at scale. Without execution, he said, sovereignty cannot be sustained.
President Mahama, who chairs the Presidential Council of the Accra Reset, appealed to advanced nations in the Global North to support the initiative, describing it as a new framework for equitable global partnership and shared prosperity.
Friends, we did not come here to ask for charity. We came to propose a global partnership of the willing, based on a shared vision and mutual respect, he stated.
The Accra Reset is building the architecture for a new kind of cooperation. One where Global South countries do not just receive programmes but co design them with our partners in the global north. Where we do not just attract investment but shape it around our priorities. We want to create Prosperity Spheres across regional platforms where countries coordinate on investment, infrastructure, and jobs, Mahama said.
President Mahama recalled that 20 years ago, United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan and several courageous world leaders, including Obasanjo, made a simple, powerful case that HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) was killing millions in Africa, and a global response was needed. This courage created the architecture of the Global Fund, which saved millions of lives in Africa and across the world.
That fight succeeded because leaders decided to act together, with urgency and without excuses. Today, I am not so sure, he said.
He noted that the United States was cutting funding for the United Nations system and other global organizations that had saved millions of lives. We face an unpredictable world. This is why Africa must be responsible for its destiny. Today, we face a different pandemic, the pandemic of unfulfilled potential, he said.
President Mahama explained that millions of young people have no jobs, health systems collapse at the first crisis, and economies extract resources but build nothing lasting.
Obasanjo often reminds me that leadership is about legacy. What will you leave behind? My answer is simple. We want to leave a continent where young people do not risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean, because they have opportunity at home. We want to leave systems that work, industries that thrive, and nations that stand tall, Mahama said.
Ghana cannot do it alone. Africa cannot do it alone. This is a call to every leader in this room. If you believe in a world where prosperity is shared, not just based on narrow interests, join us. If you believe the Global South deserves partnership, not pity, join us. If you believe the next chapter of human progress will be written in Accra, Nairobi, Kigali, Abuja, and Cairo, join us, the president said.
The Davos engagement marked the launch of key priority programmes under the Accra Reset framework. The initiative was first introduced at the 2025 United Nations General Assembly and later received endorsement at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg.
Other Presidential Council members attending the side event included President Abdel Fattah El Sisi of Egypt, President William Samoei Ruto of Kenya, and President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria, and Prime Minister James Marape represented Papua New Guinea.
Former Heads of State participating included Obasanjo, Right Honourable Helen Clark, President Ameenah Gurib Fakim, and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who make up the Guardians Circle of the Accra Reset. Also present at the event was the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Doctor Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Obasanjo said the intention is to embed the initiative within the North South Dialogue to engage development partners on critical reforms and concrete projects, including improving access to health facilities and technology.
The Accra Reset will now move toward defining concrete programmes and partnerships, with Mahama expected to outline the initiative’s strategy and governance framework as discussions continue at the African Union and other international forums.
The Accra Reset is not seeking permission. We are building momentum. From New York last September to this room in Davos, and to the African Union in Addis Ababa next month, and soon the Oslo Dialogues, Mahama said.
President Mahama views the Accra Reset as complementary to his domestic reform, the Resetting Ghana Agenda. As a founding member, Ghana recognizes that effective national governance requires both internal reforms and a more equitable international system.
