Donald Trump and the neo-imperial threat to Africa

By Professor Jeffrey Haynes

US President Donald Trump recently threatened Nigeria with a possible military attack. He accused Nigeria’s government of allowing the mass killing of Christians by Islamists. Last week, Trump alleged on social media that ‘Radical Islamists’ are responsible for the ‘mass slaughter’ of Christians in Nigeria. Presumably, Trump is referring to the long-term murderous tactics of Boko Haram and other non-state radical groups. Intensified violence by Boko Haram, as well as attacks by the so-called Islamic State elsewhere in West Africa, leave many Nigerian citizens at risk of atrocity crimes.

Since around 2010, Nigerians – that is, Christians, Muslims, followers of African Traditional Religions, Secularists, and so on – have faced multiple security threats and risk of atrocities due to attacks, kidnappings and extortion by Boko Haram and other non-state armed groups. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the security situation has resulted in a humanitarian emergency, with more than 7.8 million people – approximately 80 percent of whom are women and children – requiring urgent assistance. In other words, in many parts of the country, Nigerians are threatened by armed non-state groups and the country’s government is at its wit’s end to deal with it. But and this is a big but – Boko Haram and its ilk appear to kill rather indiscriminately, regardless of victims’ religious affiliation.

The point is that non-state actor attacks in Nigeria have varying motives. Some are religiously motivated, targeting both Christians and Muslims. Others involve clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups, and inter-ethnic disputes. Christians are among those targeted. If they weren’t it would be surprising: 50% of the population are said to be Christians. Yet, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north, where most attacks take place – and have done for years.

Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh, Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), recently urged on his Facebook page that the African Union, Economic Community of West African States, the government of Nigeria, and Nigerians generally ‘must push back strongly against this imperial bullying and meddling. First, [Trump] picked on South Africa, supposedly in defence of white Afrikaners facing alleged persecution in South Africa. And now this latest pretext to humiliate and divide Nigeria.’

Why should this worry Ghanaians? Trump sometimes acts like a mafia boss: issuing threats to those he thinks he can subdue with ease: do what I say, or you’ll face repercussions you won’t like. I have a big and powerful group of foot-soldiers to do my bidding; defy me and suffer the consequences.

Trump’s America wants to set the rules of global interactions: economic, political and diplomatic. The aim is to displace the long-term authority of the United Nations – created in 1945 as a global entity to encourage inter-state cooperation – and undermine efforts for regional economic integration – such as the European Union (EU).

Africa has long attempted to cooperate for greater development – with mixed success. The African Union, for example, was created to emulate the EU’s integrationist success. Europe is the world region with a history of long-term, catastrophic wars. Now, it is stable, with a shared currency, attempts at a common foreign policy, and a bastion of democracy: major achievements.

Ghana must stand with its neighbours, including Nigeria, and resist the divide-and-rule tactics of Trump’s America. The latter is already pressurising African nations to take America’s unwanted criminals and some, including Ghana, have acquiesced to his strong-arm tactics in this regard. But this is the road to division not cooperation and it is imperative to resist Trump’s neo-colonial designs. How different is it for the USA to threaten Nigeria with military force if the government does not do exactly what Trump says than what the British did in attacking Kumasi in the early 1870s?

The British sacked Kumasi in 1874 primarily due to a power struggle and territorial conflict with the Ashanti Empire during the Third Anglo-Ashanti War (1873–1874). There was Asante resistance to British expansion on the Gold Coast, the Asante king’s refusal to accept a British resident, and Britain’s desire to conquer the Ashanti and control the region’s gold resources. Fast forward to 2025: Trump is threatening Nigeria because the latter’s government is wary of increased American involvement in the West African region, the Nigerian government’s alleged reluctance to stop the ‘mass slaughter of Christians’, and US attempts to access Africa’s mineral and rare earth resources at a cheap price. Plus ça change (a French expression that translates to ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’. It is often used to express a sense of disillusionment, implying that despite superficial differences or changes, the fundamental issues or situations remain constant.

Trump’s threat to Nigeria is a challenge to Africa, Ghana included. The blatant neo-imperial moves of the USA augment attempts by China, Russia and to an extent Turkey to increase their involvement in the West African sub-region in moves reminiscent to the infamous ‘Scramble for Africa’ led by powerful European countries in the 1880s. But today Africa can wake up and smell the coffee: unite and repel, or divide and be ruled by new imperialists.

The writer is an Emeritus Professor of Politics, London Metropolitan University, UK.