According to him, think tanks are not supposed to be slumber and interested in prestige; rather they should be institutions that think critically.

“In ‪Africa, we have think tanks...they are tanks, they don't think,” he stated at the PAV Ansah Memorial Lecture in Accra on Friday.

“We must change our state of mental development if ‪‎Africa will realize its full potential. We have been pregnant with hope for too long. Pregnancy must end. It is time to deliver. And we are the midwives. ‪‎Africa likes new things and we don't have the staying power. Today in ‎Africa, we hang the goat thieves and elect the big thieves into office,” Prof Lumumba added.

He spoke on the theme: "Good governance, whither Africa?"