Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has expressed concern that Africa is being excluded from the global digital revolution, warning that the continent must urgently redefine its identity and control its own narrative.
Speaking at the high-level media forum organised by the Africa Media Bureau in Accra, he lamented Africa’s continued dependence on external systems despite continental initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“Poor Africa so far has tended to be defined from outside. We are still seeking our identity. We talk about AfCFTA, but it tends to be just talk. Meanwhile, digitalisation and global technology are evading us”
John Agyekum Kufuor, Former President
Kufuor cautioned that while conversations about digital platforms are common across the continent, Africans themselves have little control over these technologies. “We talk about platforms – but how many are managed and driven by us?” he asked. “We are still locked into the blinkers of colonialism.”
The former President criticised colonial legacies that continue to divide the continent along linguistic and cultural lines. “We are Anglophones, my cousin in Côte d’Ivoire is Francophone, the next person is Lusophone – we don’t know ourselves,” he said, adding that knowledge gaps among neighbouring nations reflect a wider disconnect.
“If you stop someone in Accra to discuss something happening in Nigeria, you’d be lucky if they know anything,” he added.
A Pan-African Media Agency
To address these divisions, Kufuor proposed the creation of a pan-African media powerhouse that would take charge of telling African stories across all sectors. He suggested Accra or any other major African city as a possible hub for the initiative, which he said could help unify Africans and reshape global perceptions of the continent.
“If the professional media people can establish a powerful media agency – very African – to tell African stories. Not just political, but economic, social, entertainment, trade, industry – I tell you, before long the African in Nigeria, Nairobi, or South Africa (will connect better)”
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor
He further explained that such an institution would serve as a counterweight to external media narratives that continue to define the continent from the outside. According to him, Africa’s image has for too long been shaped by others, slowing progress and stifling self-determination.
Kufuor emphasised that while initiatives like AfCFTA demonstrate an aspiration toward continental unity, they risk being “reduced to rhetoric without real investment,” in African-controlled platforms.
He noted that digitalisation and global technology continue to escape African ownership, adding that the continent’s inability to take ownership of the digital age would further entrench dependency and limit its influence in global affairs.
The former President insisted that redefining Africa’s identity through media and technology was crucial to overcoming the fragmentation caused by colonial-era boundaries. He stressed that a “continental media powerhouse,” would give Africa the tools to project its own narrative, encourage cultural exchange, and foster economic and social integration.
Kufuor’s remarks at the “Broadcasting at the Crossroads” forum, which was themed “Aligning Policy, Technology and Global Best Practices for a Resilient Media Landscape,” underscored the urgency of preparing the continent for a future shaped by digital innovation.
By calling for African ownership of platforms and the creation of a media hub rooted in the continent, he sought to chart a new path that strengthens Africa’s voice in global discourse.
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