AFRICOM and the perception mess

[ganulv]

That statement betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between Africans and Africans in the diaspora. For example, each year, Nigeria receives about $10 billion from Nigerians abroad. I.e. they are an important source of funding and with funding comes influence ($10 billion is a lot more money than either USAID or the USG spends on Africa).

Put simply, it is important to listen to what they have say about America's policies in Africa because (a) it is unwise to underestimate the impact the diaspora has on shaping public opinion in Africa and (b) their influence on American politics is set to rise in the near future.

I have a friend who works with Nigerian entrepreneurs in NYC; it’s not as if all Americans are unaware of the goings-on of the world. And since we’re talking perceptions I’m going to bring this up: Nigerians don’t exactly enjoy a sparkling reputation amongst other Africans. Are you so sure Nigerians carry a lot of weight in shaping public opinion outside of their home country?

Africa is huge. The map below shows how massive it is.

All of the UCCs are huge.

[KingJaja]

I have a friend who works with Nigerian entrepreneurs in NYC; it’s not as if all Americans are unaware of the goings-on of the world. And since we’re talking perceptions I’m going to bring this up: Nigerians don’t exactly enjoy a sparkling reputation amongst other Africans. Are you so sure Nigerians carry a lot of weight in shaping public opinion outside of their home country?

I totally accept that we don't enjoy a sparkling reputation anywhere. I refer to my Nigerian passport as the Mark of Cain. However, due to our size, our cultural exports (most of Africa watches Nollywood), our record as a peace-keeping nation, the popularity of our public intellectuals (Soyinka, Achebe) and the reputation of our business people we tend to be listened to.

See a BBC article - How Nigeria has affected the rest of Africa.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11429067

When I mentioned that Africa was huge. I wanted to bring out the fact that the distance from Dakar to Mombasa is greater than the distance from Seattle to Florida. That Congo DRC is a very different country from either Senegal or Nigeria. That the lessons you learn from dealing with Rwanda and Congo do not necessarily apply to Ghana or Cameroon.

Nobody makes such generalisations about Asia or Europe. Africa is clearly the least understood combatant command area.

For example, some of you talk about food aid and its importance in Africa. A West African sees food aid much differently from an East African (West Africa has a lot less famines than East Africa so depends much less on food aid). He doesn't attach the same importance to food aid as a person who grew up in the horn. Thus, a message tailored for the East African audience may seen as an insult in much of West Africa.