'This illustrates how Washington's approach to Nigeria has become out of touch and unresponsive,' Page told AFP.Ī Biden administration is likely to put more pressure on the Nigerian government to address human rights violations, said Nigerian geopolitical think tank SBM Intelligence in a report.īut a former Nigerian ambassador to the US, George Obiozor, said major changes were unlikely. '(Trump) never set foot on the continent,' he added, recalling that the president had even sacked former secretary of state Rex Tillerson during his first trip to Africa in 2018.įor economic powerhouse Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, US policy under Trump was 'inert, ineffective, and lacking a moral compass', wrote analysts Judd Devermont and Matthew Page in a joint column.Ī 'shambolic' example of this, said the American pair, was the US's failure to speak out during widespread demonstrations against police brutality and bad governance last month.īiden reacted before the State Department after security forces fired live bullets at a crowd of unarmed protesters in Nigeria's megacity Lagos, killing 12 according to Amnesty International. US troops also provided 'vital support' to French forces in the restive Sahel region, noted American studies professor Pape Malick Ba at Senegal's Cheikh Anta Diop university.Īccording to Ba, Trump never established a 'specific strategy' towards Africa, making him less popular than his predecessors Barack Obama and George W. In Africa, Washington merely finalised pre-established security agreements with Ghana, Niger and Senegal. 'Four lost years,' said Senegalese political analyst Rene Lake, during which international relations were dominated by trade with China. Politics, diplomacy and economic reforms were sidelined. Under Trump, the US was mainly focused on its fight against terrorism as well as domestic aid programmes. 'It is evident from how little interest African media had for the US during that period.'īiden has pledged to reverse many of the Trump administration's immigration reforms that tightened restrictions on asylum seekers and refugees. 'During these four years (Trump) fuelled disenchantment and indifference,' he told AFP.

Many were displeased by Trump's 'barely respectful attitude' and restrictive immigration policies, said Dakar-based analyst Ousmane Sene, head of the West African Research Centre. Months later he referred to Haiti and African nations as 'shithole countries' during a closed-door meeting at the White House, sparking global outrage. Less than a year after he took office, he infamously praised the healthcare system of 'Nambia' - mispronouncing Namibia - during a speech at the United Nations. Trump, still president until January, did not make a good impression on Africans during his term.

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