Africa needs inner inspiration

It was unthinkable that the USA could take the same sides as North Korea, Russia, and Belarus. We once dismissed dictatorship, anti-immigration, anti-multiculturalism, military boots on the streets of cities, disappearing civilians by state agents, etc., as a political impossibility in the US. Trump has made it not only possible, but the centrepiece of his regime.

America today is a whole different political space; armed troops patrol the US capital. It is an emerging North Korea; under Donald Trump, democracy boundaries are constantly being tested, if not actively replaced with authoritarianism.

The reality cannot be ignored when giant, dystopian banners bearing Trump’s face hang from federal buildings. This is not a normal presidency – it’s a cult of personality that has rapidly slid into authoritarianism.

Donald Trump has turned the American political space on its head. Nothing surprising there, he is doing exactly what he promised during his campaign – a dictator on day one, the only difference being that he is doing it everyday, not just for a day. He is openly undermining and weakening democratic institutions by routinely prioritising and replacing merit and competence with loyalty.

Human rights are no longer guaranteed, under Trump’s regime, ordinary Americans no longer enjoy the privilege of being protected from abuse of power. Those who want some of that privilege need to be on the right side of the president, even if it means lying to the public.

Federal employees are terminated for doing their jobs of giving independent, factual information, if that does not fit in with Trump’s narrative.

There are two concerning revelations about the Trump regime’s pivot, (1) the quality of US politics has fallen to its depths very quickly – ideas once unthinkable are now regarded as mainstream, and (2) extremist rhetoric is practically dragging US politics to the extreme right of the spectrum with the Democrats seemingly out of their depth and lacking strategy to offer a coherent, sustained, and effective resistance.

Seeing first-hand what the America first agenda is doing to the US politics and how it is emboldening the far-right movement in Europe, Africa must be wary, look away from the US and focus within its borders for inspiration.

We know from real experience where dictatorships take us – dictatorships have damaged the continent. They have ripped communities apart, removed safeguards designed to protect ALL OF US from abuse of power.

Ignore the propaganda, what the America first agenda represents is not a serious US first policy but a cold extremist agenda hiding inside an excuse for one.

Chaos, fear, and division define the socio-political space of Africa, and, with that, the widespread poverty as the political leadership loses all sense of empathy to achieve total seizure of political power.

It is not too late for Africa to change course to stop the next generation continuing the current pathway of a costly, dangerous, and corrosive politics that has overseen the damage to our economies, and the systemic withdrawal of individual freedoms and dignity.

We have first-hand experience of what a broken political system does; it serves to fuel disillusionment, rewards incompetence. Incentivises corruption, and turns the once impossible into the near inevitable.

Africa’s systems need to pivot towards African norms and values, not outcomes from foreign, including Western, researchers. Let us create systems that solve real problems instead of investing in fake problems. Africa needs purely locally influenced political systems that value inclusiveness, disincentivise extreme and divisive politics and ensure leadership is representative of communities and society.