In a recent X post, tech billionaire Elon Musk agreed with Dr Arikana Chihombori-Quao, a former African Union ambassador to the United States, who lauded the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). While speaking with journalist Steve Clemson (@scclemons on X), @HEDrArikana (X) argued in this clip that USAID had interfered in Africa, adding that its dismantling is a ‘wake-up call’ for Africans to build a self-sufficient continent.
Musk is no stranger to controversy, as he fuelled US President Donald Trump’s attack on South Africa for alleged ‘unjust racial discrimination’ of Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch colonists who ran the apartheid regime that denied fundamental rights to the Black majority until 1994.
Maybe it takes one imperialist to recognise another. Whatever may be the case, dismantling USAID amplified many Global South people’s criticism that the agency worked to keep many places, including the continent, subservient to the US. The mere threat of destabilising governments not towing Washington’s line has kept many countries obedient.
In February, US Congressman Scott Perry alleged USAID funded Boko Haram, ISIS and Al Qaeda, which came after years of Nigerians pointing to foreign powers funding Boko Haram.
Video credit: @aljazeera
Sources
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55229894
https://appliednetsci.springeropen.com/articles/10.1007/s41109-020-00264-4
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1197570/deaths-caused-by-boko-haram-in-nigeria
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/newsletter/2025/01/29/inklings-what-make-trump-aid-freeze-chaos
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1903671188754252133