Africa’s prosperity lies beyond map correction – Moghalu

Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, has welcomed a United Nations resolution encouraging the use of maps that more accurately show Africa’s true size.

However, Moghalu said changing the way Africa is represented on maps would not by itself bring economic development to the continent.

Moghalu made this known in a post on his X platform on Sunday.

He said the UN General Assembly had voted 164-1 in favour of the “Correct the Map” resolution, which was led by Togo on behalf of the African Group and supported by the African Union.

According to him, the resolution encourages schools, governments, international organisations and technology platforms to use equal-area maps, such as the Equal Earth projection, instead of the traditional Mercator projection.

He explained that the Mercator projection was developed in the 16th century mainly for navigation. However, it makes countries and continents near the poles appear larger while making areas around the equator appear smaller.

Moghalu pointed out that Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland, even though both appear almost similar in size on the Mercator map.

He stressed that the UN resolution was not legally binding. He also said it did not ban the use of the Mercator projection for navigation or change the borders of any country.

“The resolution is not binding. It does not ban Mercator for navigation. It does not redraw a border. It asks the world to stop teaching a distortion as geography,” he said.

Moghalu said maps were more than just geographical tools because they could influence how people viewed different parts of the world.

“Maps are never only maps. They are instruments of worldview. They tell children who is large and who is small, who is central and who is peripheral,” he said.

He said correcting the way Africa is visually represented was important for the continent’s dignity and how it is viewed around the world.

However, he warned that a more accurate map would not automatically lead to economic development.

“A map can change how the world sees Africa. It cannot change how African states organise themselves,” Moghalu said.

Referring to his book, Emerging Africa, Moghalu said Africa was “emerging, not rising”, stressing that changing the continent’s image was different from achieving real economic transformation.

He said sustainable development would require higher productivity, better skills, good governance, strategic planning and a clear sense of national purpose.

“Development is first a state of the mind. Without that inner architecture — values, strategy, organisation — we keep mistaking symbols for substance,” he said.

Moghalu also referred to the economic progress of countries such as China, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam.

He said their transformation was achieved through investment in education, industrial development, strong institutions and long-term national planning rather than changes in how they were represented on maps.

“The map followed the factories, not the other way around,” he said.

He urged Africans to use the corrected representation of the continent as an opportunity to rethink what Africa could achieve with its vast land and natural resources.

“Teach the true size of Africa. Let children see that this continent can contain the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico and much of Europe and still have land to spare,” he said.

Moghalu, however, challenged African leaders and citizens to move beyond celebrating the continent’s size and focus on building productive economies.

“A fairer map is a beginning of perception. It is not the beginning of prosperity. The world does not owe Africa a projection. Africa owes itself a plan,” he said.

Dear Vows