Prime
Lessons African leaders must learn from Trump’s ‘shithole’ talk
What you need to know:
- Immigrants. For the record, Mr Trump is making a mountain out of a haystack. From the estimated 43 million so called immigrants in the US, 23 million are from Latin America and Caribbean, 13 million from Asia, five million from Europe and only two million are from Africa!
Donald Trump is undoubtedly the most unconventional man to rise to the position of president and by most accounts, a racist though he denies this. His latest outburst calling Haiti, El Salvador and African nations ‘shithole’ nations, is probably the lowest level he has sunk so far. That he can get away with these irresponsible utterances is no doubt a pointer to the fact that the United States still harbours plenty of people, who support and think like him and that racism is not necessarily an ‘ugly’ word in the US. Having lived in the US for many years and travelled across America, I know racism exists in many forms and often the treatment of black people leaves a lot to be desired. The US, however, is a diverse nation and Trump does not represent all of ‘White America’ although there are sufficient numbers that support his brand of racism. This may explain how he can get away with it and proudly continue be the President of the richest and most powerful nation on earth.
Trump succeeded Barrack Obama, who served two terms, the first black American to be elected president of the US and by the largest majority for a president in American history. Trump, as a person did not hide his dislike of Obama and questioned his being American; even demanding to see his birth certificate. The rest is public knowledge. But who is Donald J. Trump? He is the grandson of a German immigrant, who arrived in the US in 1885 at the age of 16, poor and uneducated. Trump’s deep hatred for immigrants from poor nations defeats logic, given his own background. Trump would like immigrants from “rich countries such as Norway.” Well he may be out of luck because Norway has one of the highest standards of living in the world and unequalled quality of life. So Norwegians are far better off home than migrating to the US.
Turning to Africa, what should we and more specifically our leaders learn from being called ‘shithole’ nations? Africa finds itself in the position it is in because of the failure of the ‘Big Men’ to develop the continent, more than 50 years since the colonialists handed over power to the indigenous Africans. Our leaders, unlike their Asian counterparts have totally mismanaged their well endowed countries turning them into beggar nations.
Africa is the poorest continent but has a fastest growing population. It is because of the incompetence of our leaders that the youth of Africa are deserting the ‘shithole’ nations and braving harsh conditions in deserts and the high seas, seeking a living in Europe and America, irrespective of the dangers. The fact that many have died on the way has not stopped others from trying. Africa is also suffering a ‘brain drain’ as the professionals also seek greener pastures. The African diaspora now constitute a major source of foreign exchange earnings for most countries on the continent. Uganda for instance receives US$1 billion per annum from diaspora remittances, more than double the revenue from coffee.
Blessed with abundant natural resources, Africa had an opportunity to regain its ‘ancient glory’ if only African leaders had the foresight and vision to set it on the right path. Instead selfish and greedy autocrats and despots assumed power and used it to enrich themselves, their relatives and friends. It is these leaders who have exposed us to ridicule by Trump. It is them again who have sold Africa ‘for the cheap’ and who have enriched American and European economies by enabling the transfer of our wealth to these countries. What Africa receives in foreign aid from these countries is but a fraction of what is stolen from it.
The African Union should therefore look inside Africa and clean out the present leadership in most African countries which have made us the laughing stock of the world, instead of demanding an apology from Trump for his remarks. For the record, Mr Trump is making a mountain out of a haystack, from the estimated 43 million so called immigrants in the US, 23 million are from Latin America and Caribbean, 13 million from Asia, five million from Europe and only two million are from Africa!
Amb William G. Naggaga,
Economist, administrator and retired ambassador.
Email: [email protected].
