Former Central Bank of Nigeria Deputy Governor, Kingsley Moghalu, has welcomed a United Nations resolution supporting more accurate representations of Africa on world maps, but warned that correcting the continent’s image will not automatically translate into economic prosperity.
Moghalu, in a post on X on Sunday, said the UN General Assembly voted 164-1 in favour of the “Correct the Map” resolution, introduced by Togo on behalf of the African Group and supported by the African Union.
The resolution encourages schools, governments, international organisations and technology platforms to adopt equal-area maps, including the Equal Earth projection, rather than relying mainly on the traditional Mercator projection.
The Mercator projection, developed in the 16th century primarily for navigation, distorts the apparent size of regions, making areas closer to the North and South Poles appear much larger while reducing the perceived size of regions around the Equator.
Moghalu noted that Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland, although the two can appear almost similar in size on the Mercator projection.
He stressed, however, that the UN resolution is not legally binding, does not prohibit the use of the Mercator projection for navigation and will not alter national borders.
“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.
According to Moghalu, the significance of the resolution goes beyond cartography because the way countries and continents are represented can influence how people perceive their place and importance in 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.
Moghalu said accurately portraying Africa’s size was important for the continent’s dignity and global image, but cautioned that greater visibility would not by itself deliver development.
“A map can change how the world sees Africa. It cannot change how African states organise themselves,” he said.
Drawing from his book, Emerging Africa, Moghalu described the continent as “emerging, not rising”, arguing that improved global perception should not be mistaken for genuine economic transformation.
He said sustainable development requires higher productivity, skilled human capital, effective governance, sound 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 pointed to China, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam as examples of countries whose economic transformation was driven by investments in education, industry, strong institutions and long-term national planning.
“The map followed the factories, not the other way around,” he said.
He urged Africans to use the renewed focus on the true size of the continent as an opportunity to rethink what Africa can 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, stressed that pride in Africa’s size must be matched by practical action, urging African leaders and citizens to focus on building productive economies, stronger institutions and sustainable systems capable of turning the continent’s enormous potential into lasting prosperity.
