Dogara, who said this when he received in audience the Sudanese ambassador to Nigeria, Ibrahim Busha in his office on Tuesday, further lamented that African leaders have left the continent underdeveloped as a result of their reliance on foreign aid, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson, Turaki Hassan.

Dogara maintained that for Africa to develop, its leaders must begin to look inwards and proffer solutions instead of waiting for aid from the West, and must begin to practise governance that really puts Africans first.

The Speaker explained that: “It is unacceptable that our continent is still being characterised as a dark continent. I sincerely believe that for us to make progress, leadership in Africa must be really for the people. Certainly, if we do that, there will be no limits to Africa’s potential.”

He said: “It is unfortunate that we have been locked in a situation whereby leadership and governance as being currently practised has only tied us to aid from the West.”

“Instead of us looking inwards, we have always looked outwards to aid that comes to Africa and in most cases, these have strings attached to them which tend to imprison and impoverish our people more than liberating them and putting them on the ladder of economic prosperity.”

“So one thing we have to ensure is done across Africa, is to provide the kind of leadership that lifts our people out of poverty and places them on the pedestal of economic growth and prosperity. We can only do this when we further our cooperation and deepen our relationship with countries that occupy leading positions in Africa.”

‎Dogara who further called for cooperation and deepened relationship among leading African countries, said it is one of the ways through which the continent can achieve its developmental goals, and that ‎”there is so much more, going forward, that we can do to provide the leadership that Africa needs for progress.”

He assured the Sudanese ambassador that the House of Representatives will work on agreements and treaties between the two countries to the benefit of citizens.

“I am also aware of the diverse agreements ‎that we have signed. From your own side of the divide, you have even gone further to establish a special implementation committee with regards to agreements signed with Nigeria.”

“As the House of Representatives, of course, we are the ‎representatives of the people as the name suggests. We ensure that in whatever we are discussing, the interest of the people supercedes our interests as parliamentarians”, he concluded.