To say that Africa is in the middle of another scramble by the world super powers is an understatement; particularly by the great powers, namely, China, Russia, and the United States.

The recent flurry of diplomatic activities by envoys from these countries underlines the point being made. Lately, U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harries made a three-country visit to the continent.

She visited Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia to strengthen ties between her country and these African countries.

This visit has both latent and manifest goals. In the ensuing geopolitical rivalries among the great powers of the twenty-first century, the U.S. needs to strengthen its influence and hold on the continent.

The scramble comes against the background of the continent’s resource endowment that has been the basis of its centuries of exploitation. Presently, the continent reels under various socio-economic and political problems.

For example, the three countries, namely Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia visited by Harries are weighed down by serious economic problems. Ghana’s once-thriving economy is going through its most difficult financial crisis in decades. The Ghanaian economy is in dire strait with a crippling debt burden and all-time high inflation put at about 50 per cent.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ghana spent 45 per cent of its revenue on interest payments in 2022. Indeed the country is in the throes of debt restructuring negation with creditors such as China.

Tanzania is contending with the ravages of tropical diseases such as malaria and simultaneously with livelihood problems, especially food insecurity occasioned by the disruption in the global supply chain as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, and climate. Zambia is in an economic mess.

The country’s foreign debt is put at about $17.3 billion. The copper-rich nation became the first African country to default on its debt when the COVI-19 pandemic hit in 2020. It is currently locked in prolonged discussions with China to restructure its debt and has also sought financial support from the IMF.

The above predicament could incline these countries towards stretching open arms to embrace the U.S. overture. Although Harries has indicated approaching the international community on debt restructuring for Ghana and Zambia, it is however not clear from the visit how this would be done without the customary conditionalities. Nevertheless, Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan was grateful to the Americans for support in dealing with malaria deaths reduced from 7.7 million in 2015 to 3.5 million in 2021.

In pursuit of the country’s goal of a malaria-free society, the country is open to supporting interested investors who want to establish manufacturing plants in Tanzania for a manufacturing era in RVs and insecticide bed nets.

So far, sweet democratic rhetoric is the takeaway, not concrete plans to help the continent with its daunting problems of development. Ghana is praised as “a beacon of democracy and a contributor to global peace and security.” Tanzania under Hassan is praised for “being a champion in the sense of democratic reforms” in her country.

Does any country do that anyway? In the international relations between the U.S. and Africa, there is no major development outcome. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) under the Bush Jr. administration did not achieve much due to sundry trade discrimination. The 2014 U.S.-Africa Summit under Obama administration yielded a promise of about $7 billion financing under the Doing Business in Africa campaign.

Today, Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa is about $43.4 billion. With no major economic gains in the relationship, what comes out vividly is the securitisation of the continent for geopolitical advantage over other great powers. Africa Command of the U.S. Army was established, and countries like Ghana and Uganda have become U.S. lily pads.

Against this background, self-determination is required in the international relations of Africa with prevailing great powers in ways that aggrandise the interest of the continent. There is a growing sentiment on the continent that Africa should have a free choice in its relationships with the rest of the world. For example, Zambia is friends with China and Russia as well as the U.S.

Would this be perceived as snubbing one major power bloc or the other? To be sure, China’s presence on the continent is palpable with building a network of telecommunication networks and infrastructure. Recently, Ghana reached a $2 billion deal with the Chinese to develop roads and other projects in return for access to a key mineral for producing aluminum.

On its part, Russia has shared decades-long partnerships with Africa, especially in the decolonisation era. What is glaring is that an exclusive relationship with Africa to the detriment of free-playing in the international arena would be counterproductive in the long run. It is important to note that U.S. statesmen have done rounds of diplomatic visits to Africa recently.

Besides Harries, others have been Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the UN, and Jill Biden, First Lady and Mr. Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State. Without concrete economic gains and equal partnership, these efforts might well be in vain.

Importantly, in these visits, Nigeria is clearly out of its itinerary. What does this signify for the country? A growing irrelevance? Some cold facts need to be stated, however, unpalatable. Nigeria has not shown exemplary leadership in the prevailing fourth republic that can attract friends and foes.

Under the Buhari administration it is as though the country has no foreign ministry, nor are its diplomatic activities felt in the West African sub-region that used to be its turf. More importantly, Nigeria oil, the then-sweet crude, that serviced the entire east coast of America which structured the U.S. attitude towards Nigeria is no longer sweet, in other words, it is no longer attractive. The U.S. has found an alternative to it. Perhaps, this explains the relegation of Nigeria in the foreign policy spectrum of the U.S.