Throughout the unprecedented US presidential election race, African governments and peoples were captivated by the campaign. Some wanted the Democrat Party candidate Hillary Clinton to win, while others wanted victory for her Republican Party rival Donald Trump. According to some observers, one of the main reasons for the surprise outcome of the US presidential race was that the majority of the white vote in the US went to billionaire businessman Trump. Some believe this would not have happened had it not been for the “racist” tone of Trump's campaign and statements. The situation in Africa, however, is much more complicated than the usual position on racism, and some African observers believe that the peaceful rotation of power as a result of the elections in the US is a good lesson for Africa. According to Stanley Gombi, a history professor in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), US presidents such as liberals like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and conservative George W Bush have now been replaced by the more radical figure of Donald Trump. “As an African, I see a transfer of power in the US without problems or complications, unlike in most African countries,” Gombi said. But the issue goes beyond this, as some Christian African conservatives and some Muslims have welcomed the victory of a conservative American president because of his hostility towards gay rights and abortion. “This is the position of many African church leaders, especially as demands by African feminist movements are growing for the freedom of abortion and against FGM, especially in East and West Africa,” Gombi added. “In some African countries, gay people are coming out, and this agitates the African churches, including older ones such as the Ethiopian Orthodox Church or even those that came with colonialism such as the Roman Catholic Church in the African Francophone countries and the Protestant Churches in the Anglophone states.” Several African leaders have launched anti-homosexuality campaigns and have refused to accept women's abortion rights. “These leaders are not interested in large US aid packages to combat HIV/AIDS or in providing electricity for millions of Africans,” according to Khedr Abdel-Baki, a professor at Kano University in Nigeria. “Their priority is to ban homosexuals and abortion and laws that criminalise FGM.” Former US president George W Bush launched an initiative during his time in office to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa known as PEPFAR, and current President Barack Obama launched a campaign to combat malaria. One third of US aid overseas, estimated at one per cent of US GDP, funds health programmes, most of which are in Africa. Obama has also launched an African energy programme to multiply the number of Africans enjoying electricity. Many Africans are now worried that Trump will cut this aid under the pretext that the US cannot continue to provide such large sums in aid. Some Americans believe their country spends 20 per cent of its GDP on aid, when in fact the true figure is no more than one per cent. Many African countries have few alternatives to US aid because they are poor and because the EU is focussed on illegal migration issues. The Chinese and other emerging nations are focussed on natural resources and infrastructure. At the same time, Trump is apparently not interested in environmental issues, which means two things for Africans. First, the continued emission of CO2 and other gases, raising the temperature of the globe and continuing desertification in many African countries, and second, giving a free hand to shale oil extraction companies, causing a drop in the price of oil. Oil is a key resource for African countries such as Nigeria, Angola, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. “OPEC now has a difficult task,” said Zachary Donnenfeld, a researcher at the Institute of Strategic Studies in South Africa. The OPEC countries earlier increased their production to drive down the price of oil and help prevent shale oil extraction in the US, shrinking the latter's share of the oil market. “There are no indications that the price of oil will rise,” said Farag Abdel-Fattah, an economics professor at the Institute of African Research and Studies at Cairo University. “Matters could get worse if the US begins shale oil production once again,” he said, adding that “what is worse for the African and Gulf OPEC states is that they are losing part of their share of the global oil market, which will be difficult to regain.” Others are more optimistic about Trump's victory because they expect him to support them in the war on terror, especially in Ethiopia and Kenya where the Somali terrorist group Shebab Al-Mujahideen is active, as well as in Nigeria and the Lake Chad countries fighting Boko Haram. But this optimism is not absolute, according to Abdel-Baki, because Trump has made disturbing statements about Muslims. Many Kenyans wanted Clinton to win, hoping that she would continue on the path of her predecessor. The Ethiopians forged strong relations with the Obama administration, but the war on terror is now their top priority. “There is a clear division in Nigeria between optimism that [Trump] will support the country in its battle against Boko Haram and pessimism about his environmental policies that will lower the price of oil. His position on Muslims could also agitate conditions” in a country with a bitter history of conflict between Muslims and Christians, Abdel-Baki said. Nigeria has had strong ties with the US since independence, and after Trump's victory it hopes to receive more military and security aid to help it in its war on one of the most brutal terrorist groups in the world, Boko Haram. At the same time, few expect the US to expand its presence on the continent. President-elect Trump leans towards isolationism, and this will allow China, Brazil and other emerging countries to dominate the political and economic scene in Africa. “The absence of the US and China's domination of the African scene eclipses the values of democracy. These are not important for China because it is not a democratic state,” Gombi said. “China and the emerging states support dictatorships. All they are interested in is infrastructure projects using soft loans, and [the African countries] are willing to pay with their natural resources which China needs for its emerging industries,” he concluded.
