WHO CARES ABOUT OBAMA’S AFRICA VISIT, BRING ON THE CHINESE INVESTORS

The president of the United States, Barack Obama, has begun his much awaited visit to Africa today with Senegal being the first of three countries that will host him. Significantly, the president has once again overlooked Africa’s most populated country, Nigeria, in his itinerary. It would be recalled that in his first visit to the continent during his first tenure the president also left out Nigeria when he visited Ghana. The opposition parties in Nigeria are already using the “snubbing” of Nigeria by Obama as an indictment of the administration and a sign that the United States disapproves of the policies and programmes of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. It is also common knowledge that the United States has raised its concern about the perceived tolerance of corruption by the present administration. It is a perception that was not helped by the granting of pardon, to the former governor of Bayelsa State, Dimipreye Alamieseigha, who was convicted of corruption, by President Jonathan. Even the security concern which a US official mentioned as one of the reasons why Obama is not visiting Nigeria is disputable. However, opposition parties are of the view that Nigeria has been ignored because of high level of corruption in the country.  However, I do not believe that Obama ignored Nigeria because the country’s leaders are corrupt or because of his disapproval of the direction of Nigeria’s democracy. American foreign policy has never been based on altruistic reasons but largely determined by its interest at a given time. If America is so concerned about the state of corruption in Nigeria and its democratic institutions why is it that it has such a cosy relationship with very corrupt and dictatorial regimes in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirate, Jordan etc. Countries that United States are conspiring with to destroy Syria and topple its government. Besides, the visit of Obama like past US presidents’ visit is not going to put food on the table of ordinary Nigerians who are impoverished because of the dysfunctional world economic order shaped and nurtured by the United States and its allies in the West. Already their hegemony on the African continent is being countered by China and in panic response they are trying to pass themselves off as caring for democracy and good governance in Africa. They thought we don’t know that the huge investments by China is scaring them. Obama’s visit is to contain China and not to bring any development to the continent. China is the single largest bilateral source of annual foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa.China’s ambassador to South Africa, Tian Xuejun, has revealed that China’s investment in Africa of various kinds exceeds $40 billion, among which $14.7 billion is direct investment. This is as FDI from United States and the West is dwindling.