With the new isolationist and inward-looking stance the US is certain to adopt over the next four years, President Tinubu really has no choice but to lead a delegation of African leaders to the White House with the following demands

Ayo Akinfe

[1] As a continent, African will stop exporting wildlife. If anyone wants to see lions, elephants, giraffes, leopards, cheetahs, gorillas, baboons, zebras, rhinos, hippos, etc, they should come to Africa. There is absolutely no justification for the zoo. For starters it is a crime against nature to cage wild animals. We want President Trump to sign an agreement supporting this move

[2] Very few US tourist operators have invested in the African wildlife industry. Where are the hotels, cafes, bars, restaurants, railway lines, veterinary clinics, etc to attract tourists to Africa? Every US tour operator who operates in Africa will be compelled to make such investment

[3] We want to see the World Trade Organisation reach an agreement compelling the rest of the world to spend at least 10% of its capital investments in Africa over the next 20 years. Washington must become the leading advocate for such foreign direct investment

[4] African governments also want to see a law passed banning the export of raw primary products. If anyone wants African cocoa, petroleum, diamonds, gold, rubber, kolanuts, cassava, plantain, bauxite, platinum, uranium, cashews, guar gum, groundnuts, etc, they should invest in local production

[5] It should be made a criminal offence to export an African primary product without adding at least 50% value to it locally. This kind of unfair trading should attract the same kind of punishment as say poaching, money laundering or human trafficking. We want the US to pass laws making it illegal for its companies to import African primary commodities

[6] Industrialised nations led by the US should be compelled to evaluate all export orders from Africa. Before accepting any supply contract, they must first of all examine the options to see if this product can be produced locally. If it can, they should support local African production

[7] It should be illegal for industrialised nations to allow sitting leaders of African nations to purchase private properties within their domains. This is just another form of money laundering, so the US should lead the way by passing laws banning such purchases

[8] Whenever sitting leaders of African nations request medical treatment abroad, industrialised nations must be compelled to first of all offer such service within Africa. They should be asked to send out a team of doctors and only accept such patients if it is a life or death emergency with no other option available

[9] Every multinational operating within Africa, must be compelled to invest at least 10% of its profits back in the continent

[10] Given that African nations are going to struggle to afford religious pilgrimages over the next 10 years, the authorities in Mecca, Medina, Rome and Jerusalem should offer free trips to all African pilgrims over the next decade. If they do not, the African Union will place a moratorium on all pilgrimages for the next decade

Ayoakinfe@gmail.com