President Donald Trump's decision during his presidency to reduce or cut certain aid programmes to African countries sparked anger and debate. While the decision may appear harsh or unkind on the surface, especially given the widespread poverty and development challenges across the continent, it's important to step back and critically assess the broader implications.

In fact, there are compelling reasons why Africans should not hate Trump or any leader for choosing to withdraw aid. Trump’s decision, therefore, should be seen not as an attack on Africa but as an end to a system that benefits donors as much, if not more, than recipients.

We need to understand that foreign aid, especially from powerful countries like the U.S., is often tied to political, economic, or military interests. It's rarely given without conditions. Much of it is "tied aid", which means the money must be spent on goods or services from the donor country, creating dependency rather than independence.

Therefore, Trump’s decision could be seen as the right step to encourage African liberation and not as an attack on African development.

It is time for African leaders to retrospect and accept that Africa is richly endowed with natural and human resources. From minerals and oil to fertile land and a growing youth population, the continent has everything it needs to develop without long-term reliance on aid.

The real issue lies in how these resources are managed. The absence of aid should push African governments to invest more in domestic resource mobilisation, fight corruption, and create policies that unlock the continent's economic potential.

Getting inspiration from Nyerere, education is supposed to liberate, develop and make us self-reliant and not slaves. Yet, Africa, especially Ghana, has overly depended on the West for too long, making Ghana look like “a spoilt son who always goes to the father for help”.

Yes, it’s factual that no country is an island, and there should be room for cooperation, looking at how the world system operates. However, the excessive dependency on the West for aid to develop our own country will only continuously make us a perpetual slave to the colonial masters.

It is now imperative that Africans should learn from President Trump's decision and come together through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) policy to develop as one continent. This can only be achieved if we decline from consciously adopting “the law of the jungle and animals’ kingdom”, which is full of wickedness and corruption.

Let’s acknowledge the fact that Trump’s decision was not a piece of hate but a piece to make Africans gain class consciousness and develop within, focusing on harnessing the potentials.

Trump's withdrawal of aid could open space for Africa to look inward and also build mutually beneficial partnerships based on trade, investment, and technology, not charity. The AfCFTA, for instance, represents a bold step toward economic cooperation within the continent.

Therefore, if African countries unite and leverage this new reality, they can move from being passive recipients of foreign aid to active players in global affairs.