Here’s how to woo Trump and his billionaire friends to Africa

TRUMP-MUSK
Photo credit: Reuters

Trump’s inauguration as the 47th US President coincides with Martin Luther King Jr Day, a federal holiday in the US. It is hard for the two events to line up. The next concurrence will be in 2053. With such a remarkable convergence of African-American fusion, one would have expected Trump to invite African leaders for his glitzy pageantry. Nay.

Donald Trump has invited many world leaders from Asia, Europe, and Latin America, but none from Africa. However, leaders from African countries such as Nigeria and Mozambique have expressed interest in attending.

This was confirmed in an article published by the New York Post on January 11, under the headline “Foreign leaders desperately jockeying for invite to Trump’s inauguration: ‘They’re all going crazy.”

A registered foreign agent is quoted saying: “They’re all going crazy. Chile, Peru, Nigeria, Mozambique.” The agent added that the leaders “were champing at the bit to attend.”

It’s impolite to ask someone to invite you to his bash, especially after one had deliberately left you out. The host knew you were there, and probably felt that your presence would lower his status or self-esteem.

Similarly, Trump is a business magnate and is aware of Africa’s business opportunities. He has knowledge of Africa’s abundant critical minerals, huge consumer market, Africa’s urgent need for infrastructure development, and technology. He’s convinced there are big and profitable businesses in Africa. That is why he launched the flagship Prosper Africa Initiative in 2018.

This aimed to increase two-way trade and investments between the US and Africa, by making US businesses more competitive in Africa while supporting African growth. Nonetheless, his likes and preferences are elsewhere.

Trump’s attitude towards Africa is well known, and it’s not going to change until African leaders can demonstrate, through actions, Africa’s opportunities, value, and dynamism. During his first presidency (2017-2021), he glaringly demonstrated he had little time for people pursuing mendicant diplomacy, and presidents who steal from their poor and starving citizens. This is probably one of the reasons he didn’t invite them. Unlike North Korea, which abolished taxation in 1974, African heads of state fund these luxuries from high taxes imposed on citizens.

The question then is: are there ways African leaders can positively engage and focus Trump’s attention to Africa? The answer is yes. To do so, we need to understand Trump’s multifaceted persona: A transactional leader who wants to cut deals in the short run, a reality TV personality who wants optics, publicity and larger-than-life image; a politician who is a nationalist pursuing an “America First” policy; a proud golfer and, of course, the President of the United States, the only superpower in the world.

He is also controversial and polarising. This complex persona, no doubt, is influential in shaping the cultural, economic, and political landscape of the 21st century. Taking cognisance of these attributes, the political trajectory revealed through invitees to his inauguration, and his previous approach to Africa, here are a few points to highlight how Africa's opportunities can attract Trump and make Africa a priority for his administration.

The first is to show alignment with Trump’s goals. Three very important goals for Trump are: “America First” -- for employment creation, curtailing illegal immigration to the US, and energy security. These goals resonate well with Africa’s goals, and once synchronised will deliver desired outcomes.

Second, African leaders need to engage Trump’s transactional mindset with transactional deals which have lucid benefits. Unlike China, Trump needs big deals. We should therefore propose large-scale, specific deals to him, in each of the five regions of Africa: East, West, South, North and Central. These deals are best done through P3s, so that there is participation and benefits on both sides.

Third, there is a saying in the sales fraternity: Of the so many efforts made to conclude a sale, only one move will deliver substantial results. That move is clear. We need to invite Trump and his fellow billionaires to a golf tournament in Africa, after which there will be a ground-breaking ceremony to build the largest golf course in the world, to be named after Trump. This should coincide with a US-Africa leaders’ summit. On his way home, Trump could tour some of the iconic projects in Africa funded by the US.

To reciprocate, African leaders should organise a mega conference in the US and invite Trump to be the keynote speaker. Participants would be largely American investors and the African diaspora. This should be preceded by massive publicity and branding campaign to create awareness of Africa’s success narratives.

With these actions, African leaders can effectively engage trump, focus his attention on Africa, and make Africa an indispensable US strategic partner. Denying African heads of state a chance to enjoy the glitzy pageantry should be the game-changer.

Ngovi Kitau was Kenya’s first ambassador to the Republic of Korea.