In his inaugural address, US President Donald Trump was categorical about his path to economic recovery and growth. He asserted that what was necessary for Americans was practical policies that overemphasized building their domestic economy, and only when time was right would he spare no efforts in restoring world trade.

Trump’s economic policies, as well as trade approaches of Western countries, have made it abundantly clear that Africa must prioritise intra-African trade to achieve economic self-reliance.

The recent 90-day freeze on US aid exposed the high-level dependency that African states have on the US, particularly in vital economic areas that could be grown internally with the right leadership.