The transition team of US President-elect, Donald Trump has asked the State Department why America is bothering to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.
This was in a four-page list of Africa-related questions from the transition team indicating the skepticism of Trump about the foreign aid extended to Africa.
The team also asked why all the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by the group have not been rescued.
“We’ve been fighting al-Shabaab for a decade, why haven’t we won?” poses one question.
The team also queried about the humanitarian assistance money spent bin Africa.
“With so much corruption in Africa, how much of our funding is stolen? Why should we spend these funds on Africa when we are suffering here in the U.S.?”
Director of the Africa program at the Woodrow Wilson Institute, Monde Muyangwa said the questions were necessary for an incoming government.
“Many of the questions that they are asking are the right questions that any incoming administration should ask,” she said.
But she also noted that “the framing of some of their questions suggests a narrower definition of U.S. interests in Africa, and a more transactional and short-term approach to policy and engagement with African countries.”