Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has called on African leaders to undertake an honest assessment of the real causes of conflicts on the continent.

Mr Ablakwa made the call while addressing the African Union Executive Council’s extraordinary meeting on Conflict Resolution and Prevention in Angola.

He said African leaders must have “an honest introspection on the real causes of conflict” and called for “an immediate end to the normalization of conflict and extremism on the continent.”

According to the Minister, Africa is “running out of time” in its quest to create “a new and transformed Africa,” making it necessary for leaders to take urgent action to address the factors driving instability.

Ablakwa urged African leaders to focus on what he described as the “real drivers of conflict,” including “injustice, lack of opportunities for the youth, underdevelopment, corruption, resource exploitation, intolerance, insincerity and serving as pawns for proxy forces.”

He also highlighted the growing desperation among young Africans seeking better opportunities outside the continent.

Referring to recent images of more than 72,000 young Africans who reportedly breached fences to enter Ceuta in Spain, Ablakwa said the development should “bring home the urgency of silencing the guns.”

He stressed the need for African governments to change their priorities, calling for “an imperative to divert resources from funding conflicts to creating jobs.”

Ablakwa said creating meaningful opportunities for Africa’s youth must be central to the continent’s peace and security agenda, arguing that lasting peace cannot be achieved without addressing the social, economic and political conditions that fuel conflict.

He urged African leaders to move beyond managing conflicts and instead tackle the root causes while investing in development, employment and opportunities for the continent’s growing youth population.