How Donald Trump Can Save Africa, by Hannes Wessels.
It’s been almost sixty years since Ghana became independent from Britain. The world celebrated as the sun began to set on the age of European imperialism. “African nationalism” … entered the stage, and all cheered the breaking of a golden dawn bringing bright light to the “Dark Continent” as the colonial shackles were broken and “liberation” belatedly arrived.
The left said that Africa after decolonization was going to rapidly catch up to the West. Instead some of Asia caught up, but Africa…
Since then, some 200 coups or attempted coups have taken place, 25 heads of state have been assassinated, and roughly fifty wars have been fought. Despite multiple interventions, Africa remains the most corrupt continent by far, with Transparency International reporting that illicit transfers out of Africa far exceed the total value of all foreign aid to the continent (currently estimated at over $50 billion a year). … Sadly, the decolonization of Africa might go down as one of the greatest socioeconomic catastrophes in history.
The list of tyrants who have emerged is a long one. Jean-Bedel Bokassa, self-styled “Emperor” of the then-named “Central African Empire” — repeatedly accused of cannibalism — bankrupted his country to pay for his coronation and was later convicted for having schoolchildren shot when they failed to buy uniforms from his wife. …
The continental collapse has never been more profound or the effects more pressing. European leaders, ever apologetic for committing the cardinal crime of being white along with a colonial history, remain on their knees, groveling in search of forgiveness. Their plan was, and remains, to throw money at the problem, but the more money they dump down a very large hole, the more broken people flee onto boats that now swarm across the Mediterranean. The Obama administration’s approach has been apathetic, if not pathetic.
Enter Trump.
[Trump] warned on the campaign trail that he intends to act aggressively and decisively against African despots and … named Uganda’s Museveni and Zimbabwe’s Mugabe as two individuals he has in his sights. …
The first and possibly highest hurdle for the president-elect and the people he leads is an intangible one. For decades, effective African policy has been crippled by a long-lingering sense of guilt tied to slavery and accusations of exploitative behavior designed to enrich the greedy American capitalists. This narrative has been effectively drummed into the national psyche by the master propagandists of the mainstream media. They have been helped along by the copious flow of films out of Hollywood that villainize white America while stereotyping their African-American compatriots as the perpetual victims of entrenched racial abuse. The fact that America, despite no colonial “debt” to be settled, is by far the most generous benefactor with regard to Africa is barely ever mentioned.
Africans generally love Americans and loathe Chinese:
Possibly the biggest misconception about Africans, also very effectively peddled by the mendacious MSM, is that they are antiwhite and anti-American. This is rubbish. They love Americans; they value the culture and they respect American power. Secure a tract of land, fly the Stars and Stripes, and watch the stampede. …
Pro-American sentiment among ordinary black Africans has been fueled by the massive influx of Chinese into the continent. They have been welcomed in their droves by corrupt national leaders because they are not squeamish about human rights and related trivia and they are happy to cut deals that suit the hierarchy. In return they have a license to plunder in many countries, which they perform with alacrity in the extraction of natural resources from minerals to timber to ivory and rhino horn. Unsurprisingly, the people of Africa generally loathe them. …
Insist on good governance, private enterprise, and less corruption:
The “little guy,” the small-time entrepreneur who wants to start a business in Africa, usually finds himself in the suffocating clutches of corrupt bureaucrats who present a regulatory minefield that sucks the zeal out of the endeavor. …America is awash with skilled people who could contribute and prosper in Africa given the chance, and they hold the key to economic growth. …
America needs to be blunt and explain to Africans that they cannot all come to the United States, but some of America can come to them. Africans everywhere will rejoice, and the first flush of a golden dawn will signal hope for the emergence of the Continent from its long, dark night.
hat-tip Stephen Neil
