The most significant effort in this direction has been on the USAID, the primary organisation for distributing U.S. humanitarian aid around the world.
The Trump administration has already frozen foreign aid and ordered thousands of foreign-based staff to return to the United States. African policymakers are closely watching the developments unfolding in Washington DC, amid fears the continent will seriously feel the effects of aid suspension.
Ethiopia was the top African recipient of USAID funding in 2023, with $1.37 billion, followed by Somalia with $973 million and DR Congo with 943 million and in three years, Nigeria received a total of $2.75 billion from USAID. Total U.S. aid spending in Africa has hovered around $8 billion in recent years.
The decision by the U.S. government to suspend aid comes at a time Africa is deep in debt and making humanitarian support appeals for the continent. But Agboade, who is also the pastor of Harvesters International Christian Centre (HICC), Gbagada Campus, Lagos, while preaching, yesterday, on the topic, ‘Seeing beyond the now’ faulted the lack of foresight and vision of African leaders, saying achieving vision is the pathway to greatness and that visionless persons or nations would always be slaves to the ones with visions.
He said: “Your vision determines the limit of what God can do for you as nobody or nation can ever be successful by begging. Your vision will determine the kind of friendship you have. Crumbs will be your best friends if you desire crumbs.
“The suspension of aid is the best for Africa and a way forward. Anyone who wait for crumbs will be friend to dogs.”
