Edwin Adai Unveils AISI, Declares Leadership the Missing Link in Africa’s Development
The Chief Executive and Executive Director of the African Institute for Statecraft International (AISI), Edwin Adai, has warned that Africa risks remaining in the backwaters of global progress unless it makes deliberate efforts to raise a new crop of qualitative leaders.
“Africa will not rise because of its oil wells, mineral riches, or youthful population,” Adai declared at AISI’s inaugural lecture in Abuja. “It will rise because of the quality of its leaders.”
The event, themed “Reinventing Leadership and Democratic Governance in Nigeria and Africa,” unveiled AISI’s mission to train a new generation of leaders capable of steering the continent toward stability, prosperity, and global influence.

“Power is not an end in itself,” Adai told a hall filled with diplomats, policymakers, scholars, and civil society leaders. “It must be seen as a tool for service, for transformation, for Africa’s rebirth.”
Adai argued that Africa’s most pressing challenge is not a lack of resources, but the absence of ethical and effective leadership. He noted that governance indicators remain weak across the continent, with institutions often undermined by patronage and expediency.
“Institutions do not collapse on their own,” he said. “They are weakened by the choices of those entrusted to lead them. Leadership matters because it determines whether a nation advances or stagnates.”
The newly launched institute aims to close this leadership gap by equipping emerging leaders with practical skills grounded in African realities. Unlike conventional academic centers, AISI presents itself as a school of statecraft, blending research, mentorship, and hands-on training.
Its programmes will focus on politics and governance, economics and development, diplomacy, security, and ethical leadership. Key initiatives include: Leadership academies and fellowships for young politicians and civil servants, Mentorship schemes pairing emerging leaders with elder statesmen, Policy research and advocacy to support governments and regional bodies, Conflict resolution and peacebuilding to encourage dialogue over division and a Leadership Development Index to track the performance of leaders trained through AISI.
Adai also commended the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Diaspora BRIDGE Programme, calling for similar initiatives to be expanded into the private sector to harness Africa’s global talent pool.
More than outlining AISI’s goals, Adai used the lecture to issue a wider call for change. He urged Africans to reject divisive politics of hatred, religion, and ethnicity, stressing that decades of lost progress can be traced to such leadership failures.
“This inaugural lecture is a call for scholars to rise with courage, for policymakers to act with integrity, and for citizens to demand accountability,”
For Adai, Africa’s true success will not be measured merely by economic growth or resource wealth, but by the character of its leaders and the resilience of its institutions.
“Let us build a future where leadership is defined by service, governance anchored in accountability, and Africa stands as a global force of stability, prosperity, and influence,” he concluded, earning sustained applause.