12/07/2025
The Scramble For Africa Continues As Trump Asked African Leaders For Their Minerals
Three days ago, the United States president Donald Trump invited five West African presidents from Senegal, Liberia, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, and Gabon for a three day mini summit in the White House.
During the meeting at the White House in Washington DC, President Trump asked the five African leaders for their minerals. Surprisingly, in response, the African leaders voluntarily offered their minerals to the United States. They offered oil, gold, iron ore, manganese, lithium, cobalt, that the United States needs.
Let's not forget that prior to this meeting, a few weeks ago, the United States brokered a peace deal between Rwanda and the DR Congo in exchange for rare earth minerals in DR Congo. DR Congo has most of the world's most important minerals. It has 70 percent of the world’s coltan reserves, a key mineral for electronics like cell phones and laptops, it has over half of the world's cobalt reserves, and 30 percent of the world’s diamond reserves.
This is the truth glaring in front of our faces: the world is scrambling for Africa’s wealth again! And what are Africans doing about it?
From cobalt in Congo to gold in Ghana, oil in Nigeria to rare earths in Madagascar, Africa holds the minerals that power the modern world. The electric vehicles Tesla and China's BYD build, the smartphones from Apple and Samsung, the fighter jets in US and European bases, the satellites overlooking us from outer space; they all would not have been achieved without Africa's resources.
Now that the United States has come out plain and asked for Africa's rare earth minerals in exchange for aid, the question facing Africa is no longer whether the world wants Africa’s minerals, it’s who Africa should do business with and on what terms.
The British came down here, colonised us, took our lands, and in return gave us roads and railways which were used to extract resources faster for their benefit. They divided, conquered, looted, and left behind fragile institutions and instilled tribalism and nepotism.
France still exerts imperial control through the CFA franc and has militarily intervened more in Africa than any other power in the postcolonial era. French companies like Areva extract uranium from Niger while the people live in darkness.
President Trump said the United States is done doing "aid for aid" and now they are focusing on "trade for trade" yet he wants our rare earth minerals to empower the American empire.
Russia offers arms and mercenaries. Through the Wagner Group, it has made deals for gold and diamonds in Central African Republic, Sudan, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. It promises security, often it’s sovereignty, technology and knowledge transfer, transparency, and long term peace. A deal which recent African leaders like Traore, Goita and Tiani love and deem it fit to work with.
China, on the other hand, offers roads, railways, hospitals, agricultural machinery and aid, scholarships. Although these come with billions of debts, environmental destruction, and opaque contracts. Many Africans prefer the relationship with China and Russia compared to the Americans and Europeans given the historical exploitation by the Americans and Europeans with nothing given back.
So, who should Africa do business with?
The uncomfortable truth is this: none of these countries have clean hands. They all want the same thing, which is access to Africa’s minerals, but under different disguises. So, should Africa drink the least potent poison?
For me, the real question isn’t who Africa should work with. It’s how Africa should deal with the Europeans, Americans, and Arabs, Indians and Chinese. Africa must not ask who to do business with. Africa must decide who qualifies to do business with us and under what rules.
Instead of flying to the White House and offering our minerals to the American empire, how about these leaders come back home and unite. It's time for Africa to have a working united mineral policy that would prevent African countries from being looted and exploited.
Why can’t the DRC, Zambia, and Zimbabwe form a copper bloc? Why can’t West African gold producers negotiate together and form a gold bloc? Why can't Nigeria, Libya, Sudan, Angola, Egypt, Gabon, Algeria, Congo and Mozambique form an oil bloc like OPEC? Why can't Ghana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire form a cocoa bloc?
No more raw exports. Cobalt must be processed in Congo. Gold must be refined in Ghana. Bauxite must be smelted in Guinea. Chocolate must be produced in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Luxury jewels must be processed in Botswana and Sierra Leone. South Africa must buy petroleum products from Angola instead of Dubai. Ghana must buy oil from Nigeria.
Whether the partner is French, Chinese, or American, every contract must be public, audited, and accountable to citizens. Africa must favor partners who build local capacity, transfer knowledge, and respect environmental and labor standards. Whoever wins African contracts must also invest in African people and the lands. It must benefit Africans directly and indirectly. Whether it be the Chinese, Russians, Europeans, Americans, Indians, or Arabs.
With all the earth minerals Africa has, it doesn't make sense that we are not leading in global trade and production. Whoever comes to Africa, we should be in control, not them. The focus should be on building African power, African wealth, and African dignity, not stealing, looting and exploiting our resources for peanuts.
The minerals are ours. The fertile and arable lands are ours. Let us not sell them for peanuts on the table of the imperialists.
By Jalloh Abu Bakarr | CEO and Founder | The African Dream
