Ade Adefeko
Behind us lies the technicolour brilliance of Morocco’s AFCON stadiums; ahead, the rarefied deliberations at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland (Davos 2026).
Sitting in this in-between space—part football aficionado, part commercial diplomat—I am struck by the friction between Africa’s aspirations and its operational realities.
We have proven we can host the world. The harder task is proving we can move it—without the drag of legacy inefficiency.
The journey from Casablanca’s turf to the Swiss Alps is physical, but the real transition is mental: from potential to performance. Policymakers understand this instinctively. Performance is the only currency that matters.
Whether it is a grain elevator in Kaduna or a fuselage over the Atlantic, the standard is the same. Excellence is not a suggestion; it is a requirement in a contracting global economy.
The Aviation Misnomer: Soft Power vs the Hard Truth of Royal Air Maroc
To speak of Royal Air Maroc (RAM) during AFCON 2025 is to confront a paradox. On one hand, RAM functioned as the “Wings of Africa”—a diplomatic instrument that enabled a near-borderless tournament and reinforced Morocco’s role as a continental gateway. On the other hand, as we enter 2026, we must stop confusing connectivity with quality. AFCON was world-class on the ground. In the air, the experience was less consistent. While Morocco’s stadia and rail infrastructure speak the language of 2030, parts of the RAM fleet still whisper of the early 2010s.
For a commercial diplomat, the aircraft is a mobile office. Yet the absence of reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi across regional and medium-haul routes remains a material constraint.
In an economy where connectivity is now a baseline requirement for productivity, flying five hours offline is not merely inconvenient—it is economically inefficient.
Cabin ageing on several short-haul aircraft only sharpens the contrast. The ambition of “Vision 2030” deserves hardware that reflects it. Soft power and hospitality can only carry an airline so far when the airframe is tired, and the digital layer is thin.
If RAM is to be a true standard-bearer, it must confront this honestly. In agribusiness, we know the value of the harvest is determined by the quality of the vessel. Every link in the supply chain is measured because weak points destroy value. Aviation is no different.
What is missing is not goodwill, but measurement. Passenger technology satisfaction, cabin age, and productivity impact must be tracked with the same discipline applied to industrial systems. We cannot manage what we do not monitor. And what does not get measured does not get done.
There is something symbolic in watching Africa dazzle the world in packed stadiums while struggling to move its people efficiently through the skies. The stadium is where belief is performed; the aircraft is where belief is tested. One is applause-driven. The other is outcome-driven.
And the world no longer confuses the two.
AFCON 2025 was a strong outing. Morocco was a capable and gracious host. The promise is real—and the best is still to come.
But if Africa’s diplomacy of movement is to match its spectacle, performance in the air must finally rise to the standard already achieved on the ground.
_Adefeko, ex officio of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Nigeria’s foremost commercial diplomat, Speaker and Director/Board member of Africa Sports Investment Summit and Honorary Consul of Botswana in Lagos (2020-2025), writes from Lagos_
