MWAMISI: Africans move from pawn to player by prioritising own interests

For the better part of modern history, Africa has been treated as an afterthought in global diplomacy, a supplier of raw materials and a passive consumer of foreign ideas, policy frameworks and capital.

Its vast natural wealth, youthful population and strategic geographic position have rarely translated into tangible power at negotiating tables. Instead, the continent has too often been manipulated, divided and used to further the ambitions of others. That era must end.

Recent developments in Kenya offer a powerful lens through which to examine the emerging tensions between longstanding Western influence and a new assertiveness by African nations in pursuit of their own national interests.

President William Ruto’s announcement this week that Kenya had successfully negotiated with China to remove tariffs on key agricultural exports such as tea, coffee and avocados marked more than a trade breakthrough.

It is a declaration that Kenya, and by extension Africa, is willing to break with historical dependency and pursue relationships that are mutually beneficial, regardless of who is discomforted. Ruto visited Beijing in April when he restated their close ties and a new world order.

The West, especially the United States, has not taken this realignment lightly. Senator James Risch, chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, recently introduced an amendment to the National Defence Authorisation Act seeking a review of Kenya’s designation as a major non-NATO ally.

Among his stated concerns were the deepening diplomatic ties between Nairobi and Beijing, as well as allegations of abductions of Kenyan activists and links to controversial security outfits in the region. However, the timing and framing of the amendment reveal a deeper unease in Washington, not simply about human rights, but about Africa stepping outside the fold of traditional Western patronage.

 For decades, African states were nudged, cajoled or coerced into aligning with external power blocs, often with devastating consequences. The Structural Adjustment Programmes of the 1980s and 1990s, pushed by the IMF and World Bank, gutted public services, dismantled local industries and left economies more vulnerable than before. These policies were rarely designed with Africa’s long-term resilience in mind. Instead, they served the financial and ideological interests of Western capitals.

Today, a new world order is taking shape. China has emerged not merely as an alternative source of capital but as a trading partner, investor and infrastructure developer.

Its non-interference policy, while controversial, has given African governments greater room to manoeuvre. But that room must be used wisely. Alignment with China, or any other power for that matter, must not be romanticised. Africa’s strategic interests must guide it.

What this means is that African nations must negotiate from a position of clarity and confidence.

Trade agreements must go beyond access to foreign markets, they must protect local industries, ensure technology transfer and guarantee African producers do not remain at the bottom of global value chains. Infrastructure projects must be assessed not only on their size and cost, but also on their long-term viability, the transparency of contracts and the economic value they unlock for citizens.

Equally important is the diversification of partnerships. No country, no matter how friendly or generous, should monopolise influence in African capitals. Strategic diversification is not just good economics, but it is good politics. It protects sovereignty and creates competition among partners, driving up the quality of offers and reducing dependency.

Kenya’s pivot to China, therefore, should not be misread as a wholesale shift in allegiance. Rather, it is a recalibration, one that recognises Western markets have grown increasingly protectionist and aid conditionalities ever more complex. Kenyan exporters need access to reliable markets. Kenyan farmers deserve better prices. Kenyan youth require jobs that can only be sustained through productive investment and industrialisation.

If anything, President Ruto’s comments this week reflect a broader continental awakening. Africa cannot continue to trade its strategic value for vague promises, symbolic gestures or partnerships that yield little. The continent is no longer an appendage of Western charity or a playing field for geopolitical rivalry. It is an actor with its own agenda, and it must articulate that agenda forcefully.

But for this to happen sustainably, strong institutions are required. Transparent governance, professional negotiation capacity and accountability mechanisms are essential. Governments must ensure that deals signed abroad are scrutinised at home. Parliament, civil society and the media must all play their role in safeguarding the public interest. The pain of past exploitations should serve as a permanent reminder that the world does not give Africa what it deserves, but it gives what Africa demands.

The African Continental Free Trade Area, if implemented effectively, could give the continent the scale it needs to negotiate better terms on everything from climate finance to intellectual property. But even this requires unity of purpose, political will and an ethos of collective self-respect.

Africa must stop apologising for pursuing what every other region does without hesitation, its own interests. The era of blind loyalty, of externally imposed models and of partnerships that exploit rather than uplift, must give way to a new doctrine. One where Africa walks into every room with its head held high speaks clearly about what it wants and walks away from any deal that undermines its dignity.

From Nairobi to Accra, from Addis Ababa to Dakar, this is the moment for Africa to move from pawn to player. The world is watching. But more importantly, Africa’s future generations are depending on it.

Several African nations have already begun making this shift. In Ghana, the government is actively reviewing mining contracts to ensure greater national benefit. President Akufo-Addo has also spoken firmly against the global financial system’s structural biases and called for reforms that reflect Africa’s true contributions and challenges.

Ethiopia has placed industrialisation at the centre of its national strategy. Through the development of industrial parks and a focus on value-added production, it is reducing dependency on traditional exports and pursuing diverse international partnerships guided by its own priorities.

Senegal has taken steps to reclaim control over its natural resources by renegotiating oil and gas contracts to secure more value for its people. In Rwanda, the government is asserting control over its digital future by investing in local innovation and regulating external tech influence, demonstrating how even smaller nations can lead with purpose.

These examples reflect a growing continental clarity. Africa is increasingly unwilling to accept unequal partnerships or be dictated to by others. It is not about turning away from global engagement, but entering it with greater confidence and self-interest.

The shift from pawn to player is no longer a distant ambition. It is a present necessity, driven by the understanding that no one will secure Africa’s future but Africans themselves. The task now is to act with unity, courage and consistency.