Once bitten, twice shy. That's how I feel about the American electoral process, especially the presidential polls. Why? As a naïve 27-year-old, I once thought that whoever won the American presidency might somehow improve my life. Today, as a seasoned 44-year-old, I realise American elections are for Americans, not for us here in Africa, and certainly not for those of us in Rwanda. To think otherwise is, frankly, foolhardy. I wasn’t always this cynical, though. Following Barack Obama’s victory in 2008, I wrote this in my weekly column, attempting to explain his win: ‘He symbolises youth, idealism and opportunity. These three things made even the most cynical of us believers... He verbalised something that many politicians have failed to understand-that the only reason they are where they are is to be of service to the people.’ I was fully on board the Obama train, truly believing he would be a changemaker not just in the U.S., but worldwide. How wrong I was. Beyond giving us the image of a Black man in the White House, the most memorable things Obama did in Africa as a two-term president included lecturing Africans leaders, unjustly cutting military support to Rwanda in 2012 due to the M23 rebellion in eastern DR Congo, and approving NATO’s bombing of Libya in 2011. That action didn’t just kill Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi and destroy Libya as a state—it also fueled a dangerous Islamist insurgency across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, killing scores who had lived in peace before Libya’s fall. Since Obama, we’ve had Donald Trump, who famously insulted African nations and Joseph Biden, who has worsened the DR Congo crisis with unhelpful statements and inaction on Sudan’s civil war. Biden’s administration, if we’re being honest, views Africa solely as a battleground for critical minerals against Russia and China. So forgive me if I’m not emotionally invested in the upcoming presidential election. Look at the two candidates: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Neither candidate offers anything promising for Africa. Some African thinkers favour Trump, believing he’ll leave Africa alone, unlike Harris and the Democrats. To them, I say: you are naïve. As long as Africa is rich in critical minerals and rare earths, it will remain the playground of American interests. The difference is, one candidate might stab us in the chest, while the other stabs us in the back, whispering sweet nothings as they do. Either way, we get stabbed. As African states, Rwanda included, we need to prepare for this stabbing. We need our metaphorical bulletproof, stab-proof Kevlar vests. Anything else is Russian roulette with our future. And it won’t only be the Americans wielding the knife. Every so-called global power will, whether it’s the Turks, Chinese, Russians, Canadians, British, Emiratis, or French. To survive, African states need to expand internal economic capacity and fortify security. Leaders must make it clear to their citizens that we are in a fight for survival. Why? Because I genuinely believe we’re only a few decades away from a new wave of colonialism in Africa. Think I'm exaggerating? Africa is simply too important to the world’s powers for them to let us muddle along as we have since the early 1960s, when most African countries gained nominal independence. If, say, someone at 10 Downing Street (with backing from the White House and Élysée Palace) decides DR Congo’s cobalt is too essential to their defence industry and therefore justifies a military takeover, who will stop them? Certainly not the UN or the international community, whose weakness has been exposed repeatedly when faced with a powerful state backed by the U.S. We’ve seen how little resistance there is to this sort of aggression. The world might cry and protest, but if a militarily strong nation acts shamelessly, we’re all in danger. Africans need the capacity to fight back; anything less is suicide. So, on November 5th, I’ll be focused on my life, raising my kids, and working to get ahead. Taking time out of my day to worry about an American election? Not on my list of priorities. I hope it’s not on yours, either. The writer is a socio-political commentator.
