No President of the United States of America has in recent times created so much anxiety and tension in his first days in office as Donald Trump.
Within his first hours as president, he signed his first executive order to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which was popularly known as Obamacare. This was Obama’s signature policy that made him popular.
There followed a flurry of executive orders ranging from the one withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); the Executive Order entitled Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals for High Priority Infrastructure Projects; an executive order for the construction of a Mexican Wall to deter illegal migration and smuggling of illegal products; and another executive order to speed up deportation of illegal aliens from the US.
The executive order that has generated the most heated interest in the US and across the globe is the one signed on January 27. Entitled “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals, it temporarily suspends the U.S Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days and denies entry to citizens ofIraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The Act is of particular interest to Africans because bad governments and endless civil wars have been a source of endemic refugees from the African continent. Ironically, of the six countries that have been banned temporarily from entering the US, – Libya, Somalia and Sudan are from Africa.
This policy coupled with the fact that the views of Donald Trump on Africa as a candidate during the presidential race were often spiced with racial prejudice, if not hatred, generated a lot of interest in what his presidency has in stock for Africa. His predecessors from the Democratic Party were hugely popular in Africa. For instance when he was declared president elect in 1992, one of the first people Bill Clinton called was Nelson Mandela who was not even at the time the South African President. And of course Barak Obama was popular in Africa because his father was a man of African origin.
It did seem to some observers that President Trump cared less about Africa and her leaders as he made early contact with world leaders on assumption of office.
It is against this background that the news that President Trump was to make a call to President Buhari was received with skepticism by Nigerians.Apart from Trump’s unhealthy views on Africa and Nigeria in particular, it was believed that President Buhari was too sick to make a call and the whole story was a hoax to boost his image by his spin doctors.
Mercifully, White House Press Secretary and Communications Director, Sean Michael Spicer on Tuesday told media men that President Trump spoke with President Buhari and Jacob Zuma of South Africa on Monday February 13th.
The two leaders it was reported discusssed the issue of terrorism which has been a big problem in Nigeria with the emergence of the Boko Haram insurgency. According to Femi Adesina, Trump assured Buhari that the US is ready to help obtain “a new deal in helping Nigeria in terms of military weapons to combat terrorism.” This is indeed a welcome development from the recent history of US refusing to sell arms to Nigeria.
“President Trump encouraged President Buhari to keep up the good work he is doing, and also commended him for the efforts made in rescuing 24 of the Chibok Girls and the strides being taken by the Nigerian military”. Trump it was reported also invited President Buhari to Washington at a mutually convenient date while Buhari congratulated Trump on his election.
In the conversations with Zuma, “The two presidents reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the already strong bilateral relations between the two countries. There are 600 US companies in South Africa and strong trade relations between the two countries.”
Trump and Zuma also “discussed the need to work together on multilateral issues as well especially the quest for peace and stability on the African continent,” the White House statement said.
South Africa and Nigeria are the two leading economies in Africa and it is little surprise that the US will show interest in what goes on in these two regional super powers. Nigeria exports crude oil to the US on a large scale and has a very high population that consumes US products while South Africa is a multi-racial and the most technologically advanced country in Africa.
Beyond Nigeria and South Africa, President Trump also needs to pay attention to Rwanda. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has in the past been critical of the West’s lack of response to the genocide that took place there in 1994. The UK and US have responded by curiously admitting guilt over the issue.
During the 2000s, Clinton and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair praised the country’s progress under Kagame, citing it as a model recipient for international development funds, and Clinton referred to Kagame as “one of the greatest leaders of our time”. Both Clinton and Blair have maintained support for the country beyond the end of their terms of office, Clinton via the Clinton Global Initiative and Blair through his role as an unpaid advisor to the Rwandan government.
It is hoped that President Trump will keep these initiatives alive by putting a call to President Paul Kagame who represents the new face of African leadership.
– Mungonu is a public affairs analyst