Conflicts force people to move, drop out of school and take a long time to return to work, all of which hinders Africa's development, the Emergence Institute president and former chief economist to several Senegalese prime ministers Moubarack Lo told Sputnik Africa, commenting on Kenyan President Ruto's remarks that conflicts undermine the continent's potential and cost it $18 billion a year.
"The whole economy suffers to some extent," he explained, noting that conflicts affect agriculture, trade, tourism and the service sector.
The economist said he laments that African countries forget their obligations "when everyone's interests are at stake" and advocated greater regional integration to reduce the tensions that lead to war.
"We need economic integration as well as integration of peoples, integration of labor markets and integration of education systems," he emphasized.
Such a move would allow populations to develop as one people, reducing the likelihood of war, the expert noted.
"We just need to recreate the ties that should never have disappeared and allow them to move around, work in one country or another, share passports and attend the same schools," Moubarack Lo concluded.