Events of the last two to three years on the global stage could fit into a Hollywood blockbuster, which could make any veteran in the movie industry grin with delight. The war games. The breach of agreements. The masquerading of intentions and intrigues. The senseless killings, either by chemical means or by avalanche of missiles bombing bodies and buildings. Sanctions, some sanctimonious, some strategic. Trade conflicts. Demise of economic blocs, and re-alignments. Massive refugee crises of millions of people that the world has never witnessed since the last century. And the long tale of lies, deceptions, embellishments, insults, braggadocio, handshakes, backstabbing and what have you.
A 21st century world order is in the offing, being formed, negotiated, and which will finally, and inevitably, get institutionalised, sooner than later, but unfortunately, it is in a compelling but unfortunate manner, catching Africa, still asleep. This new world order is being predicated on models and approaches originated by global players, among whom African nations are surreptitiously absent.
Only recently, French President Emmanuel Macron stood and spoke before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. Since 1874, when King Kalakaua of Hawaii (which later became a US state), about 120 world leaders have delivered speeches to a joint meeting of the legislative body. It is on record that Britain\’s Winston Churchill and Israel\’s Benjamin Netanyahu each stood and spoke before Congress three times, feats that are the most of any foreign personality of high ranking. This practice became a standard part of foreign leaders’ state visits to the United States after 1945. In the early Congresses, a Joint Session or a House Reception was often used for the address.
Aside Nelson Mandela, who was the very first African leader to address a joint session of Congress in 1994, only Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia had been accorded that privilege in 2006, not as a result of the might and influence of Liberia, but out of diplomatic courtesy to the Harvard-trained economist. Presigent Buhari\’s recent trumped up visit to the White House is telling as compelling. Not only was Buhari treated as truly Third World African leader that he is, but one without bones, veritably seen in the spineless answer he gave to the question of what he felt about Donald Trump\’s alleged condescending remark about Africa being made up of \”shit hole\” countries.
The Nigerian President had to play the \”good boy\” part so as not to upset the treaty-breaking American President from changing his mind about the military fighter jets Nigeria has paid for and hopes to receive in about a couple of year\’s time.
The story was not only that.
President Trump also trumped up \”trade barriers\” he wanted removed between Nigeria and America, as if the deal he wanted to broker would be in the interest of the African nation. As a result of the trade war he initiated with the Chinese, his country ended up with a deluge of soybeans from Ohio, Kansas, Texas and Nebraska. Knowing fully well that those states are an important part of Trump\’s political base, China purposefully stopped soy imports from them. And guess what, that\’s not good news especially against the backdrop of the upcoming midterm elections.
With hundreds of thousands of tons of soy without a buyer, America thinks Nigeria, with over 70 percent of its population involved in one kind of farming or the other, should be the dumping ground for American soybeans. So much for the removal of \”trade barriers\”.
Because China refused to be pushed around, American farmers lost more than 62,000 metric tons of soybean orders which China cancelled and instead turned to other sources of the commodity in the international market.
China, being the world\’s largest importer of soybeans, not only canceled orders, it also raised tariffs on American soybeans in retaliation for Donald Trump\’s increased tariffs of $50 billion on Chinese goods – which become taxes that veritably get passed onto consumers.
The issue now remains: Will Nigeria, the so-called giant of Africa, see through the veil and discern the Americans\’ clever game? Africa must, if its citizens on the continent and in diaspora would be treated with dignity and respect, negotiate on its own terms. The ultimate question is: Will Africa ever be able to negotiate without groveling before other world powers? Or, will it take another century for Africa to learn its lessons?
For the records, whatever way you look at it, African leaders also sold out by allowing China to sponsor the building of the Africa Union (AU) headquarters building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. That building, with its majestic radiance, rising high in the horizon of the only African nation to ever effectively rout and win a war against an European power, oozes out with the subtle, but not so subtle symbol of the new colonisation of Africa. And the battle of the century will be a battle of choices, the choice between enslavement and freedom and dignity, between temporary financial gluttony of a corrupt and renegade African political leadership and that of well meaning, hardworking, enlightened African population who are ready to redefine, rethink, reshape, and reset the template for an African renaissance.
