US’ $100m aid for five countries in West Africa, By Joel Ademisoye

With the US Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to three countries; Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia in Africa and carrying an aid package worth of $100m for five West African countries; Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, it appears that America is joining the neo-colonial scramble for the African continent (Source: “U. S.’ $100m for 5 W/Africa nations,” The Nation, March 28, 2023).

Although, President Joe Biden spoke through VP Harris that he has made it known and clear that the U S is strengthening its partnerships across the African continent. In December 2022, President Biden an US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC, where the president’s NPA $55bn commitment to Africa over the next three years (Source: Cleve R. Wootson Jr., “In Ghana, Harris announces US investments, faces skepticism by leaders,” The Washington Post, March 28, 2023, PA9.). She announced that the Biden administration plans to provide a $139m worth of bi-lateral aid to Ghana, a country presently facing a debt crisis and food shortage.

Against this backdrop of Biden’s statement, this writer is viewing the $100m aid in comparative perspectives and relative to China’s heavy investment in infrastructure such as its Belts and Roads Initiative involving the construction of roads, railways, sports stadiums, mining, timber and fishing. Also, the ‘Johnny just come’ country of Russia, which has been busy using its private military contractor- Wagner Group in providing security assistance to some African countries facing the threats of violence, insecurity and instability like Burkina Faso and Mali.

Out of curiosity, this writer is asking the question, why is Nigeria, the Giant of Africa with the largest population and economy on the continent which also suffered some devastation and destruction in the hands of the Boko Haram insurgency, is conspicuously missing from the list of recipient countries of the US aid?

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I vividly recall about a few years ago, when the President. Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) sent a SOS letter to President Biden requesting that the US Military High Command located in Stuttgart, Germany to be relocated in Africa, because of his concerns about the growing level of terrorism in Africa by the likes of Islamic State of West Africa and Al-Qaeda. In addition, Nigeria is a shining example of democracy on the hill in Africa. For instance, Nigeria has under its belt, a history of 24-year uninterrupted democratic rule, with a recent presidential election successfully held in the country. President Buhari also made a request to Biden for military assistance to combat terrorism in Nigeria. The Nigerian President hit the nail on the head and spoke the truth to the power that Africa needs more than just aid (Muhammadu Buhari, Op-Ed, Financial Times, August 15, 2021.). This writer shares Buhari’s views on the need for the United States to go beyond aid to the African countries, because each country on the average is just receiving a meagre aid of $20m ($100m divided by five) from the United States, which I characterised as a drop in the ocean. Many of the countries are still experiencing and battling insecurity, banditry and suffering from the negative impacts of underdevelopment and massive poverty among their citizens. The US needs a paradigm shift in its philosophy of aid support for the African countries, by boosting the amount of aid and making it more integrated and comprehensive, thereby leading to a sustainable economic development on the continent. The size of the US aid to some countries around the world are substantial and huge, particularly those in the Middle East and North Africa. In the near future, many African countries would be of strategic importance to the military and economic interests of the United States. The truth of the matter is that the US needs some catching up to do behind China and Russia in the context of competing for and securing its economic and military interests in the global geo-politics on the African continent.

In fact, President Donald Trump’s four years in The White House, was a colossal waste, because the African countries and their development problems were of a low priority and the continent was off the radar of the United States foreign policy.

▪ Joel Ademisoye, a professor of political science, sent this piece from Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America.

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