Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Osman Abdulai Ayariga, has cautioned that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) may not achieve its full potential if it is implemented primarily as a goods-based trade agreement that overlooks the movement and protection of Africa’s youthful talent.

Speaking at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues under the theme “Africa Without Borders: Youth, Creativity, and Power in an Integrated Africa,” Ayariga emphasized that Africa’s integration efforts must place young people, creativity, and the services sector at the core of AfCFTA implementation.

He noted that although AfCFTA has established a single market of more than 1.4 billion people with a combined economic value exceeding US$3 trillion, economic integration cannot succeed by focusing solely on goods.

“Markets are built by people, not goods alone. If AfCFTA is implemented as a goods-only agreement, it will structurally fail Africa’s youth,” he warned.

Ayariga pointed out that services, digital production, and creative industries—sectors heavily driven by skills, innovation, and mobility—are among the fastest-growing areas of the global economy. Despite Africa’s abundant talent, he said the continent captures less than one per cent of global creative economy value, attributing this shortfall to policy gaps rather than a lack of capacity.

He referenced Nigeria’s film industry as a case in point, explaining that between 2016 and 2022, global streaming platforms invested approximately US$40 million in Nollywood, enabling African content to reach international audiences and attract significant capital.

According to Ayariga, culture has evolved beyond its traditional role as soft power and now serves as a strategic tool for economic growth and diplomatic influence. He cautioned that without deliberate investment in cultural diplomacy, African narratives would continue to be shaped by external forces.

The NYA CEO called on African governments to take decisive political action, including the mutual recognition of skills across borders, labour-sensitive mobility policies, and a structured free-movement regime that allows Africans to live, work, and create across the continent with dignity.

“Africa’s youth are already borderless in their imagination and ambition. Policy, however, is still lagging behind reality,” he concluded.