Unserious men for serious times
Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between foreign policy and sycophancy.
L. Muthoni Wanyeki
In July this year, five African heads of state travelled to Washington DC in the United States for a “summit” that can only be described as bizarre.
There was little logic behind the grouping of the five African countries. At one end was Guinea-Bissau, an arguably illegitimate government.
At the other were Senegal and Gabon, two governments once hailed for achieving political transition against all odds. And in the middle, Liberia, with its historical ties to the United States, and Mauritania, which we will talk about later.
In short, a motley crew.
What made us bow our heads in collective shame was the naked sycophancy. The meeting was fast on the heels of the US-brokered, so-called Washington Accord between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. And host President Donald Trump was lavished with praise by the five presidents for his supposed conflict-resolution skills.
Mauritania, a country that has no diplomatic relationship with Israel, even endorsed the Israeli offensive against Iran in June. There were calls for Trump’s nomination for the Nobel peace prize. And the Senegalese president gushed about Trump’s golf skills, inviting him to build a golf course in Senegal.
It was nothing short of embarrassing – particularly when compared with how South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held his ground against Trump in the Oval Office weeks earlier. In a quiet salvo against the absurd claims that South Africa’s white Afrikaner population was at risk, Ramaphosa led a multiracial team into the White House.
This time, each government seemed intent on selling its country – and the continent – down the river.
No mention was made of the fate of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which – however flawed – was at least one of the few continent-wide trade frameworks with the US. Nor was there any reference to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, our supposed collective leverage with global trading powers.
Back to Washington DC. At the time of the summit, Israel’s offensive against Gaza had killed 62,000 Palestinians – that has now risen to more than 69,000.
The African Union renews its standing resolution in support of Palestine at every AU summit, yet none of the five governments referred to any of this.
The Nobel peace prize? Our sides would split with laughter if we were not daily reduced to tears.
Tears too for the eastern DRC. The US brokered the “Washington Accord” between the DRC and Rwanda – in parallel with the Qatari-brokered peace process with the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels. Both deals were initially hailed for taking a “dual” approach that avoided framing M23 as a Rwandan proxy or just another local militia.
Yet both the accord and the peace process collapsed swiftly. Washington responded with token sanctions on the Congolese army and M23 for ceasefire violations – finger wagging and slaps on the wrists that achieved nothing.
Tears also for Sudan. The “Quad” of external interested parties in the war in Sudan – the US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – had planned to meet at the time the five African leaders were in the White House. That meeting was quietly dropped. Egypt continues to give material support to the Sudanese Armed Forces and the UAE does the same for the Rapid Support Forces.
The United Nations arms embargo means nothing to them. Nor do the 150,000 Sudanese dead or the 12-million people displaced, to say nothing of the rape and sexual slavery that feature with such regularity in reports. Again, the five African governments meeting the US presidency had nothing to say about any of this.
To be honest, why should the US take us seriously when we don’t take ourselves seriously? All we have are tears for Palestine. Tears for eastern Congo. Tears for Sudan. Meanwhile, our heads of state smile when being patronised (like when Trump praises Africans for their “good English”) and offer our land up for golf courses. Jokes. Except that it is anything but funny.
How fortunate for us that the Quad has since met and agreed on a way forward for Sudan, prompting the phrase, “Arab solutions for African problems”.
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