Ghana's former President John Mahama has cast more light on his affiliation with Nigeria.

Mahama who was the keynote speaker at the annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Sunday, August 25 spoke of his relationship with Nigeria before he began his keynote address.

Before his speech, he revealed his stepmother was Nigerian from the Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State adding that he was sent to live with her at the start of the civil war.

"My stepmother is Nigerian who raised me. She comes from Offa in Kwara State. And so what Kayode was explaining was that at a point in time when there had been a coup in Ghana, my father lived in exile in Nigeria and I had to come stay with my stepmother for so many years in Offa. So I know Offa quite well and I consider that my hometown here in Nigeria," he said.

The former President says the monopolistic nature of many African economies as a key obstacle to sustainable growth.

Mahama emphasized that recent commodity price shocks have exposed the fragile financial stability and economic sovereignty of African countries.

Mahama used Nigeria as an example, noting that its heavy dependence on oil exports makes its economy vulnerable to global price fluctuations.

According to him, this issue is not unique to Nigeria but extends across the continent. For instance, Côte d’Ivoire relies heavily on cocoa, Ghana on gold, Zambia on copper, and Botswana on diamonds.

Despite Africa’s vast natural resources, Mahama pointed out that the continent’s agricultural sector remains largely underdeveloped.

He lamented the heavy reliance on food imports, which depletes foreign exchange reserves and hampers the growth of domestic agribusiness.

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