Identify opportunity, do not regret USA exiting global stage

As misinformed, chaotic and disruptive as it is, the Trump administration’s decision to exit from international cooperation and from US’s historical global leadership role is not a global catastrophe but a golden opportunity for multipolarity. The absence of the US as a global figurehead leaves space for multiple voices to be heard and more perspectives including Africa’s to be considered without prejudice.

The US contribution, sacrifices, and achievements in making the world a better place is undeniable. It is our view that the US has done a lot of good in Africa in the field of human rights and healthcare – research and access to vaccines, improving access to women’s health care, etc. Investment in civic education has been critical in promoting transparency and good governance.

We respect the US’s decision to vacate its global leadership role. The partnership with Africa bears benefits for many communities, but it is a partnership of unequal powers often lacking in mutual interests and tending to undermine the interests of a weaker Africa. We believe that any partnership founded on unbalanced trade arrangement, loans and aid in its various forms encourages local corruption, cultivates laziness, undermines local urgency, creates unsustainable dependency and undermines long-term stability, and even concerning, it extends to the US unfair leverage over Africa; it facilitates and exonerates extortionate and exploitative interactions that leave Africa vastly vulnerable to Western vices.

Often, in the name of human rights, conditions have been attached to aid to introduce and reinforce US or Western values that may not be aligned with local context, values and practices leading to tensions and conflict.

US’s exit from or reducing its activities in Africa is a wake-up call for the continent to look at her interests, reimagine her development pathway, and establish responsive global partnerships without undue interference from global superpowers.

It has become clear that the US-led socioeconomic and political hegemony is not only unhealthy, but also ill-equipped to handle Africa’s unique challenges. The US priorities are not Africa’s priorities; hence not all its investment priorities have been of benefit to African peace and stability.

The US’s repeated failure to maintain unbiased perspectives and approaches on basic African interests jeopardizes the economic growth and capacity of the continent. It is the right time for the USA to step aside. And it is time for African governments to fulfil their constitutional duty and lead in the interest of the African public.

With the US-led socioeconomic model, what we have been witnessing is the persistent recalibration and decline in moral standards. The media ecosystem plays a big role in controlling the global narrative that promotes and glorifies greed while minimising its impact on the poor; it blames victims for their suffering, maintains silence on extortionate approaches to aid while amplifying what Africa gets from donors.

The system perpetuates poverty while locking wealth within narrow bounds of its creators. The trickle-down approach has not worked; the system does not provide a realistic and genuine process for poor nations to get out of poverty, rather it is designed to allow them to survive not thrive, and to remain thankful to the US for their survival.

Acquiring wealth is good and everyone has respect for the right for individuals and corporations to create wealth, but when acquiring possessions becomes the only objective or an obsession, morality is compromised. Glorification of opulence and gluttony must not be our default; the objective should be to make wealth work to improve communities, create healthier, and safer shared spaces.

We object to some methods used to acquire wealth in the current system, and we reject how wealth is used to control spaces, opinion, choice, marginalise and restrict the ability of certain nations to achieve their capability.

Perhaps the Trump administration exemplifies what happens when greed and gluttony influence economic policy and why his decision to exit from international cooperation maybe a good opportunity for the global South to recreate its economic framework in response to local needs not external demands and expectations.

An economic model that is sensitive to the needs of most Africans is long overdue; a bottom-up middle-out approach seems a better fit. We must remove all unnecessary barriers to strengthen and facilitate intra-Africa trade; movement of goods, services, technology, and skills must be simplified. Current barriers include both tariff and non-tariff measures with non-tariff barriers such as cumbersome regulations, corruption, poor infrastructure, and lack of trade facilitation posing a greater challenge than tariffs. We must build local skills base and technologies to increase capacity.

Economic growth and independence of Africa requires a strong, consistent local skills base, investment in research and innovation, regulatory and infrastructural coherence, and reliable international partnerships. The economic gap left by the US will hurt African economies, but the best response is to take the opportunity to redesign our internal structures.