Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has called on the youth to use education and new technologies, including digital tools and artificial intelligence, to make Africa “borderless” in practice. 

He explained that the continent had become fragmented through what he described as an unhappy history of colonialism.

Addressing beneficiaries of the Kufuor Scholars Programme at his residence last Thursday, the former President said that with this current generation being better educated than his generation, they were better placed to use their know-how to rise above divisions and make the continent truly borderless.

"Since our psychology was so conditioned, we have been brainwashed for so long that we must rise above all these divisions.

"And we are going to do it through you, with your high learning, the qualifications that you have, and the performances, educational performances.

And then the mastery of the new technologies led the way to the digital age.

"We are talking of artificial intelligence and so forth and so on. Use all these accomplishments and mastery of the sciences and engineering to render Africa borderless.

You are not going to go to war to conquer or fight among yourselves, no," he said.

Event

The John A. Kufuor Foundation, which predates the Scholars Programme, focuses on leadership training and governance initiatives across Africa.

The ceremony marked a decade since the programme’s launch and highlighted the foundation’s emphasis on youth development as central to its long-term goals.

A total of 41 new scholars, including international students, were inducted into the programme, and 30 scholars graduated from the programme after completing the three-year programme. 

The programme combines structured mentorship, coaching and practical camps to complement university studies. 

Leadership

Former President Kufuor called for homegrown leadership solutions that respect the African person and resist external narratives.

He praised the scholars as agents of change who would help Africa “identify itself to the rest of the world,” adding that the continent’s true wealth lies in its people.

Openness

The Danish Ambassador to Ghana, Jakob Linulf, welcomed the new inductees of the Kufuor Scholars Programme and urged them to use their education and leadership potential to promote peace, openness and international engagement.

He encouraged the scholars to continue studying diligently and to embrace curiosity and cross-cultural interaction as tools for wisdom and success.

One of two outstanding graduates to receive a medal from the former President, Nereus Mensah Gyasi, described himself as privileged to belong to the scholars' community, where members are challenged to “do greater things” and trained to lead.