Africa
SOME international relations experts have said Africa should rely on its own resources while its nations should pursue their national interests in order to progress and be more independent.
They made this known in interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) while reacting to 47th U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders, particularly, withdrawal of the U.S from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Trump, within the first 24 hours of his administration, signed executive orders covering areas including immigration, trade, climate and healthcare.
A former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Angola, Layiwola Laseinde, said the withdrawal of U.S. from WHO was not a good development for third world countries but should not be dwelt on.
According to him, Africa is getting to a stage where it has to rely on its own resources and not aids from super powers and international organisations in order to grow.
He said if one path closed for WHO, another would open, adding that there were other countries willing to support the organisation.
“Most of the contributions for polio and malaria programmes particularly in Nigeria come from billionaires such as Bill Gates.
“America puts in some money but you can’t compare it to the support given by well-meaning individuals.”
The Director of Research at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof. Joshua Bolarinwa, said Trump’s decisions stemmed from an attempt to increase wealth and revenue for America and pursue its national interest strategically.
According to Bolarinwa, the foreign policy or national interest of a nation is the first thing to pursue in relations within the international system.
“His plan to establish an external revenue service to tax foreign countries is to increase prosperity for Americans, and it is for other countries, including Nigeria, to know how to engage America during this period.
“The decision to withdraw from WHO is a multilateral arrangement.
“Whatever relations Africa or Nigeria will have with the U.S. should be done within its national interest too, as there is no need to go into unbeneficial alliances,” he said.
For Prof. Femi Otubanjo, Senior Research Professor at NIIA, Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from WHO would mean some loss of funding for the UN health body.
He, however, said that WHO would survive with or without the U.S., adding that there might only be scaling down of certain programmes.
“China is a big country and is providing support.
“WHO can also find a way to put pressure on smaller economies to pay their dues so programmes can go on,” he said.
The Director-General of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus, had said the organisation regretted the decision of the U.S. to withdraw from it.
“We hope the U.S. will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the U.S. and WHO for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.”
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, remarked that the U.S. was an early supporter toward the establishment of Africa CDC – Centres for Disease Control and Prevention – which works with WHO.
According to the chairperson, the U.S. has been crucial in shaping global WHO instruments and norms on public health security and wellbeing in the last seven decades. (NAN)
Tags: Layiwola Laseinde
