Africa must unite to gain greater influence within BRICS, analyst says

The chief executive officer of DefSEC Analytics Africa Ltd. said Africa should consider how its collective economic and demographic weight could improve its bargaining position as countries on the continent explore closer relationships with emerging economies through BRICS.

Speaking in an interview with Ismail Akwei, Fidel Amakye Owusu questioned whether African governments had done enough to build the internal unity needed to engage major powers on more equal terms.

“How has Africa worked towards integrating so that we could have been on this block as a continent rather than as individual countries? Have we tried that?” he asked, discussing Africa’s position within BRICS.

He argued that individual African countries risk perpetuating existing inequalities in the international system when they engage powerful economies separately instead of coordinating their interests.

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“I believe that we’ve not done enough internally. So joining a new organisation as individual states only perpetuates the kind of exploitation that we often face. But if we are going as a continent, our weight is bigger,” he said.

Africa’s collective bargaining power

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa originally formed BRICS, and it has since expanded its membership. The grouping brings together countries seeking greater influence in global economic and political affairs, including in a system long shaped by Western-led institutions.

Fidel Amakye Owusu told Ismail Akwei that the emergence of BRICS reflected the ambitions of major emerging economies to create a counterweight to the existing international order.

He noted, however, that African countries must consider not only the opportunities offered by such groupings but also how effectively they can advance their interests within them, while pointing to Africa’s 54 sovereign states and population of approximately 1.4 billion as potential sources of influence if governments could coordinate their positions more effectively.

“When we are together, 54 sovereign states with 1.4 billion population, when we are talking, we are talking with weight,” he said.

He contrasted that potential collective influence with the negotiating position of an individual African country dealing with major economies such as China and India.

“You are looking at China, over one billion, over 1.4 billion population, India surpassing China’s population. And these giants, we look at Brazil's size, and these giants are sitting there with Ghana, South Africa and others. You can’t negotiate,” he said.

The Ghanaian analyst’s comments come as Ghana explores closer engagement with BRICS. He warned that the country should assess the practical benefits of participation rather than treating membership or association with an international grouping as an achievement in itself.

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“You would have to weigh your interests vis-à-vis what the group has to offer and whether, in the long term, you are going to gain some benefits. What are you to gain? And are your citizens really better off joining that group than not?” he advised.