Are African Leaders Seeking Notice from US President-Elect?

Several African leaders have congratulated Donald Trump, US President-elect. They include Egyptian President Abdul Fatah El-Sisi, South African Cyril Ramaphosa, and Cameroon’s President Paul Biya.

They expressed commitment to strengthening a wonderful working relationship with incoming President Trump. This is through various letters sent to the US.

They are telling him how each country has been working with the US and intend to continue with the Trump administration.

Does Trump care about Africa?

Trump will be returning to the White House on January 20, 2025, for another four-year non-consecutive mandate.

Trump while serving as the US 45th President between 2016 and 2020 never visited Africa nor sent his vice president.

He reportedly called Africa a “shithole” continent.

Cameroon struggled to maintain a positive relationship with the Trump administration. The country was suspended from the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which used to enable Cameroon to access US markets.

In 2016, the Trump administration banned seven Muslim countries from the US through an executive order. Nigeria and Sudan suffered from the ban. Authorities deported many Africans who entered the US illegally.

In Cameroon, some who came back ended up in jail, Human Rights Watch reported.

Trump laid a plan for how he is going to resolve the war in Ukraine and Gaza-Israel during his campaign. There are multiple conflicts in Africa, but Trump never said a word about what he was going to do about it.

Some of the organisations where Africans benefit, like WHO and the Paris Climate Accord, he wants to pull out from.

Donald Trump has the ‘America First’ policy, thereby urging other leaders to prioritise their countries first, too. So, are the African leaders soiling themselves on Trump?