What Does America First Mean to Africans?

It is amazing how the spiritual and secular world intersect. This week marked the beginning of the new year in the Catholic Church Calendar. In one of the prominent Catholic Churches, a cheeky Catechist grabbed his speaking opportunity via announcements from the Podium to wish Happy New Year to a bewildered congregation. Someone jokingly said near me, "Maybe he branched to the nearby "Akptesi" joint or, worse still, took generous sips of the communion wine before consecration. Strangely, the readings did not feel like a New Year, though. Lurid and strong images of fear, violence, and Armageddon were so palpable that, in the words of Alex La Guma in "A Walk in the Night," you could "roll" it into a big fat ball that could shatter the walls of our peace of mind. Part of it read, ''....upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." There were warnings, but also instructions on what to do to navigate the calamity. Take heed to yourselves lest your heart is weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of the world, and the day will come upon you like a snare. This was really about the second coming of Christ as in the Christian faith. In the secular world, there has been almost fear and trepidation, especially in developing countries, about what is referred to as President Trump's second coming and America's First Philosophy. Coincidentally, I was drawn into this conversation a day before the reading above. I honestly had tried to avoid getting drawn into this. Perhaps because my views have remained consistent with my position in 2016 and which led to my article "Stop Whining, Lets Upgrade our Huts". This was in response to the outcry and consternation about Mr. President's comments on Africa. African Countries need to have strong economic voice and truly live the trade, not aid mantra. As one of the speakers said at the event, "a Hungry man cannot negotiate at a dining table of trade discussions or hold on to his position for long. The downward movement of his head each time he salivates, would itself appear to be a yeah to every proposition.

 Should Africans be truly worried? Some argued immigration issues and FDI were on a downward spiral from 2016-2020, so the second coming should be viewed with this apocalyptic lens of massive deportation, cancellation of Trade Agreements, and absence of big brother to run to when fragile democratic institutions are threatened in a continent that has been on a reverse to military rule.

Not everyone hold on to this apocalyptic view. For one thing, Foreign Direct Investment increase or decrease is mostly private sector driven and direct outcomes from potential investment opportunities and a positive investment climate driven by business-friendly policies and incentives. Some will go as far as contending that America First may also include protecting the U.S. assets at home and abroad, including investments and IPRs.

According to the DFC, Nigeria alone has approximately $1 billion committed across 19 active projects. $200 million loan was given to the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company for the prefinancing or refinancing of residential mortgages to support affordable home ownership for low- and middle-income households, in addition to about 120 million other loans according to the Deputy CEO of DFC Nisha Biswal during the US-Nigeria Executive Roundtable held on the margins of the UNGA in September. It is unlikely that the U.S. will not track these loans and promissory notes. 

How does the U.S. private sector perceive Africa? This is a complex question to answer, but from where I sit, Nigeria is perceived as a natural business partner to the U.S., with some companies existing in Nigeria before the country's independence. For the last seven years, the American Business Council has witnessed double-digit membership growth, though we witnessed a few leaving or scaling down operations in manufacturing and healthcare. The Council created an associate category for the increasing number of Nigerian tech start-ups registered in the U.S., paying taxes to the U.S. government as well. From my little research, over 65% of Nigerian Startups are also registered in the U.S.

Africa should really be better positioned to tackle a government that they fear may have only a transactional relationship with them. The continent, according to the United Nations, is home to about 30% of the World's mineral reserves, 20% of Oil and Gas combined,90 percent of its chromium and platinum, and the largest reserves of cobalt, diamonds, platinum, and uranium in the world are in Africa. It holds 65 percent of the world’s arable land and 10 percent of the planet’s internal renewable freshwater source, and nearly half of the world's gold(Al Jazeera). A quick glance from my friend AI through Google showed that 7 African nations comprise the top nine countries blessed with extractive minerals. The report also shows that the resources that should bring African Countries to the table as a 'belleful" man, as we say in pidgin, are not used sustainably and are hemorrhaged by illegal activities. 

So what should Africans really do? This, again, is where the sacred and secular embrace. The passage warned against wasting time on things that do not matter, such as drunkenness(a symbol for waste) and energy dissipation in endless debates.

Take Nigeria as an example. Though in its throes of inflation, the Nigerian government appears to be taking steps in the right direction. This year, they have intentionally courted other business partners - a major superpower in Asia, Saudi and more recently France moving with them the weight of the private sector as they engage at the table. The country has repositioned government Ministerial portfolios, bringing the astute Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, formerly of PEBEC, as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, in addition to other changes. The recent launch and pricing of the country's $2.2 billion dual-tranche Eurobond offering showed an oversubscription with a peak order book of above $9 billion, perhaps attesting to the increasing investor confidence in Nigeria and the positive trajectory of the reform agenda of the government. Ah.. Ghana just completed a successful democratic election and hopefully will soar economically on the wings of this. Whether these would lead to remarkable changes, we hold our breath...