Africa's political leaders of the colonial days - the nationalists- held a world view of leadership and of politics, and made their voices heard all over the world on matters concerning Africa and the entire world.
They wrote books, ran commentaries, gave lectures, not only in their own countries and their quest for freedom, but also on other events and other countries and their travails - throughout the world.
Thus, Nnamdi Azikiwe's book "Renascent Africa" was a book on rebirth of Africa and her relationship with the entire world.Kwame Nkrumah's entire literary work, except for "Dark Days in Ghana", was on the effect of Neo-colonialism (an import from the western world) on African development.
Nyerere's "Ujamma" was on Tanzanian's adaptation and interpretation of the Eastern European and Chinese “Socialism “ for Tanzanian ‘s developmental purposes. The lectures of Tom mboya, and the exhortations of Jomo Kenyatta and Odinga Odinga were all geared towards galvanizing Africans to always relate their positions in realism to the positions of other people in the world realm. Sekou Toure wrote the book "Africa and the Revolution", a call to Africans to shape up and fight for recognition in the world of those days. And this was a period in which the world had not become a global village!
After independence, the situation changed. African leaders would not care a hoot about what happened anywhere else in the world. After two weeks in office , they would jet out to their "mother country" and start starching up their countries’ money into their private accounts. Back home, they would emphasize the policy of oppression, intimidation and repression of their political ‘enemies’ in order to perpetuate their rule. Not for them the problems of the world. The Cuban missile crisis went unnoticed and uncommented on African leaders. The Congo crisis, an African matter was only carried high by Kwame Nkrumah . The fight for the liberation of Southern Africa was only borne by Nigeria.
Professor Akinyemi's attempt to create a concept of "Medium Powers" was rebuffed with contempt, even by the powers that be in his own country!
The scenario however seems to have changed in today's world. With the world becoming a global village, African leaders have woken up to realize that they cannot stay like islands and not bother about the world around them. They have learnt the hard way that they have to bestir themselves and know that events elsewhere in the world have an effect on their own countries.
With Russian flags flying in Nigeria during an internal protest in Nigeria, with a Chinese firm seizing one of Nigeria's presidential planes, Nigeria has woken up to know that she is "not alone" in this world and she has reacted. South Africa has now engaged in naval exercises in South Africa waters with Russia! Lured by Malian uranium, Russia has made in-roads into Mali, Burkina faso and Niger. And these countries have embraced Russia.
Thirty three African states have reportedly signed defence and economic co-operation pacts with Russia.
All these have brought into focus, the election of trump as the 47th president of the United States of America and what effect it has on Africa.
For Africa, the election of trump as American's president is important especially in the light of trump's track- record.
First, trump is hard on immigration into America. A critical examination of this policy is necessary. Some analysts describe this policy as racist. They point out that if migration into America involves Europeans, white Americans raise no objection; but if it involves South Americans and Africans, then folks like trump talk of cocaine and shithole and all that balderdash. What is trumps reply to this? Simple. The answer is "America first". America must protect its own interest first, and America's interest lies first to protect Europe and Europeans.
Africa can go hang!
If it comes to deportation, Africans, then Mexicans, will be on the top list of those to be deported. No European legal or "illegal" immigrant will go. How does Africa react to this situation? Here, we have to refer to the all-time challenge which African people have been giving to their post-colonial rulers - give effective leadership, a leadership that will ensure development - political, social, economic, so that your followers will not see the need to "Japa", to leave their beloved country and face insults and deportation from other countries.
Furthermore, ordinary Africans should give themselves some self-respect by refusing to take insults from countries that do not respect them. How? By working hard on their own and not be lured into slavery in the name of the "search for the golden fleece". You cannot blame the man who says "Americans first", if you cannot say "Nigerians first", then that is your own business.
Trump cannot expel an African who enters America legitimately and contributes to American's development. There are thousands of African businessmen, pilots, doctors, nurses, engineers, literary people who are in America and are being lured to stay in America, and are given American citizenship. America begs them to stay. The African whom 'Time' magazine described as "the unsung hero of the internet" is an Ibo-Nigerian". There are Nigerians involved in the space programme of America.
There are Nigerians and other Africans in the US army. America makes them citizens. The message therefore is that Trump’s immigration policy, even though it is racist, positives can be taken from it by Africans.
Another implication of trump's election for Africa is in the area of trade and aid.
Apart from cases involving overwhelming natural disaster, war, and/ or internal problems, the issue of aid for me is unimportant. What is important is trade. If aid is given for humanitarian purposes, especially in the areas mentioned above, all well and good. $ 64 million was given as humanitarian aid to Sub - saharan Africa in 2024 by America. All well and good. But what is more important for Africa is trade, not aid. And when it comes to trade, there is no contention. It is business, and we have to negotiate it on level grounds. Africa should stand up and not ask for any preferential treatment. Those who built America did not get any preferential treatment from any one. And those who built America were slaves from Africa!
So this gives us another room for positivity with regard to the Trump's presidency. Africa should trade with Trumps America on equal terms. There should be no super-ordinate - sub-ordinate relationship on that score. This is where leadership counts. African leaders should not bend over backwards to beg, plead or canvass for favourable terms of trade, because it only raises Trump's ego and demeans their personality. This is where choosing strong, acceptable leadership within African states becomes necessary.
Aid, trade, immigration- these are crucial areas in the election of Triumph viz - a-viz the African continent.
But most important are the political and geo-political implications.
For those in International Relations discipline the world has always remained the same - geo politically. The point is that the struggle to control the world has always been there - no matter how analytically they are grouped. There was a time people talked about a multi- polar world, a bi - polar world, and a uni - polar world. It is all a mirage, an analysis fit only for the University tutorials.
The point is that every of the 154 - odd nations in the world has geo-political influence on the other. Thus, no nation can ignore the other politically. Thus those who state that in terms of geopolitics, Africa will not matter to Trump must make a more serious reading of elementary books in International relations.
So if Trump believes in the policy of “ benign neglect” of Africa by his administration, he may be heading for an impeachment. Such an impeachment will not,of course, come from African leaders. It will be motivated by the actions of Russia, China, and the likes of North Korea and Iran.
Russian expansion of its influence in Africa - the warm up to South Africa, the presence of Russia in saharan West Africa, the Russian signing of eco-military agreements with 33 African states all cannot be neglected by, say, the American government. Neither can the free floating of the Russian flag in Africa's most populated country and the economic push by China and Chinese entrepreneurs and companies be glossed over by any rational American president.
And finally, any nation which wishes to be regarded as a front runner in the quest for survival, needs all the help it can get from allies, especially in this age, when the threat of war is always hanging in the air.
So, African leaders have to brace up and look at the world as a hard place to compete in, to make friends, and to develop their people to meet the challenge of growth and development so as not to sink into a revolutionary situation in which their quest for self-perpetuation of rule will be a nullity.
As for Trump, Africa awaits his first few moves. These moves will essentially elicit Africa's reaction.
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