The phenomenon of colonialism on the African continent "in many ways still hasn't ended", which can be deduced from "the way Africa was integrated into the global economy", according to Ovigwe Eguegu, a Nigerian policy adviser at Development Reimagined consultancy.
"You would hear now in many parts of the continent that what Africa got was political independence, but not really economic independence, because the structure of their economies still mirror the colonial structure," he explains.
However, currently there is an "awareness" and "recognition" that "there are options" and that "it doesn't have to be so".
"There are many countries now who are interested in Africa and offering different, and in many instances better ways of doing things and approaches," Eguegu says.
One of the "strongest ways" economic sovereignty can be achieved by African countries is to "create tools for trade settlement". BRICS offers numerous benefits for Africa, according to the expert, such as "trade settlement tools", "cross-border trade with the BRICS basket of currencies" and "being able to have joint initiatives".
"So the success of BRICS is going to be the success for many, many countries across the world, Africa included," the expert stresses.
To hear what the expert has to say, check out the entire episode of the AfroVerdict podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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