China Hands Over Gifted ECOWAS Headquarters in Nigeria

 Business Insider Africa published on 29 April 2026 an article titled "China Hands Over $56.5 Million ECOWAS HQ in Nigeria, Expanding Influence in West Africa" by Segun Adeyemi.

China gifted and built the new $56.5 million ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria in a ceremony held this week.  

Vanguard published on 28 April 2026 an article titled "ECOWAS President Declared China W/Africa's Most Strategic Partner."

The president of the ECOWAS Commission described China at the ceremony "as West Africa's most strategic partner."  Nigeria's minister of state for foreign affairs said the headquarters is "a powerful symbol of the deepening ties between Africa and China."

Comment:  China buys a great deal of good will and influence in Africa by gifting and constructing key structures such as national parliaments, political party headquarters, presidential palaces, military barracks, and the headquarters for the African Union and ECOWAS.  

African Union Needs a Strategy for Dealing with China

 The Daily Maverick published on 7 March 2022 a commentary titled "The African Union Cannot Go to Beijing without an Action Plan" by Hellen Adogo, University of Johannesburg.

The African Union is opening a permanent mission in Beijing.  Africa does not have a strategy for its engagement with China.  The author argues that it is overdue for the African Union to develop a strategy that will leverage Chinese expertise to effectively support Africa's implementation of Agenda 2063.

Foreign Policy Research Institute Podcast on Conflict in Ethiopia

 The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) hosted an hour long discussion on 23 November 2020 titled "The Ethiopia-Tigray Conflict."

Charles Ray, chair of the FPRI's Africa program, hosted the panel discussion with Robert Houdek, former U.S. ambassador to Eritrea and former charge d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Ethiopia, Emma Boyle, LaSalle University, and myself. 

The wide ranging discussion covered both the internal Ethiopian and the regional implications of the conflict.   

African Union Statement on Situation in Ethiopia

 The African Union issued a statement on 9 November 2020 concerning the situation in Ethiopia involving the movement of federal government troops into Tigray region.  AU Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat called for the "immediate cessation of hostilities" and urged the parties to "engage in dialogue."

This is the only reasonable action to take at this time.  

Criticism of Proposed Cut in US Aid to Ethiopia

 Lawrence Freeman posted on his blog on 6 September 2020 a commentary titled "Trump's Aid Cut Harmful to Ethiopia and All of Africa."

The author argues that the "temporary pause" of $100 million in aid to Ethiopia because of its decision to begin filling the reservoir behind the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile is a Trump administration foreign policy mistake.  

US and Nile Water Issue

 TRT, a Turkish public television broadcast service, ran a four minute interview with me 3 September 2020 on the US role in trying to resolve the dispute involving Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan on the release of water from behind the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River.  

Ethiopia: Score Another Botched Policy for the Trump Administration

 The Associated Press published on 2 September 2020 an article titled "U.S. Cuts Aid to Ethiopia Amid Nile Dam Dispute."

The U.S. State Department announced it is suspending some aid to Ethiopia over the "lack of progress" in talks with Egypt and Sudan on the filling of the reservoir behind the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile and the flow rate after the reservoir is full.  

As I suggested before the announcement of this U.S. decision, it won't work and only underscores the ineptitude of the administration.  Let the three countries work this out with the help of the African Union, where the mediation should have been from the beginning.  

China's Response to Sudan's Political Transition

The US Institute of Peace published in May 2020 a report titled "China's Response to Sudan's Political Transition" by Laura Barber, political risk analyst based in London.

Beijing's public support for Sudan's transition to civilian governance in the aftermath of the coup that deposed President Omar al-Bashir has been cautious, though mostly successful in ensuring continuity in its bilateral ties with Sudan. Attempts to balance its ties between Khartoum's rival external backers, however, have limited Beijing's ability to step in and encourage its various allies to act in the interests of stability or to play any meaningful role in bringing the conflicting parties together.

China in Africa: Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission published on 8 May 2020 my testimony on "China in Africa," which accompanied public, oral testimony on the same day.

The testimony responded to six questions submitted to me by the Commission. The testimony covered China's strategy in Africa, China's Africa policy pronouncements, African countries of special interest to China, China's alignment with U.S. competitors in Africa, organizations China uses to implement its Africa strategy, and African support for China in international fora. It concluded with several recommendations for Congressional action.

Testimony by the other participants is contained on the Commission's website.

China Gets in Middle of Kenya-Djibouti Fight for UN Security Council Seat

Pass Blue posted on 24 January 2020 an article titled "As Kenya and Djibouti Fight Over a UN Security Council Seat, China Pops Up" by Maurizio Guerrero.

African countries hold three rotating seats on the UN Security Council. One of the seats is up for election for the 2021-2022 period. Normally, the African Union proposes a consensus African candidate that is then agreed to by two-thirds of UN General Assembly members. Kenya was the consensus African Union candidate but Djibouti cried foul and continued to pursue the seat.

China implied publicly on different occasions that it would support both Kenya and Djibouti. It has important interests in both countries. This confusion caused concern in Kenya and Djibouti, prompting Beijing to declare neutrality in the dispute and saying it must be resolved in Africa.

China and Africa: Huawei's Cybersecurity Risks

The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) published on 3 October 2019 a study titled "A Concise Guide to Huawei's Cybersecurity Risks and the Global Responses" by Jonathan Marek and Ashley Dutta, both at NBR.

The analysis examines criticisms leveled against Huawei and how governments have responded. It provides a framework and key examples through which readers can better understand the policy challenges surrounding the company.

It notes that Africa is likely the region outside Asia where Huawei has achieved and can achieve its greatest success. Huawei operates in 40 countries in Africa and is heavily involved in both 4G and 5G network development. Even after a reported network breach, the African Union signed an agreement reinforcing its cooperation with Huawei.

A New Dawn in Sudan?

The US Institute of Peace published on 17 April 2019 a two part commentary titled "After Bashir, A New Dawn in Sudan?" Part I is by Susan Stigant and Elizabeth Murray. Part II is by Maria J. Stephan, Nicholas Zaremba, and Elizabeth Murray.

The commentary offers insights on fast moving developments in Sudan by Africa specialists at the US Institute of Peace.

Somalia: The Limits of the AMISOM Model

The summer 2018 edition of The Washington Quarterly published an article titled "Subduing al-Shabaab: The Somalia Model of Counterterrorism and Its Limits" by Paul D. Williams, George Washington University.

The author argues that while AMISOM delivered some notable achievements, the model could not and should not be replicated elsewhere. It generated several problems that permitted AMISOM to degrade and displace al-Shabaab forces but not to defeat them, and unable to turn its military success into sustainable political gains.

African Foreign Ministers Invited to Washington

The Voice of America published on 14 November 2017 an article titled "Before High-level Discussions, US Aims to Strengthen Ties to Africa" by Vincent Makori and Salem Solomon.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will welcome in Washington on 16 and 17 November 37 African foreign ministers and African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat. In view of the relatively little attention given to Africa so far by the Trump administration, this is a welcome development.

China and the African Union

The Conversation published on 23 February 2017 a brief commentary titled "How the African Union's Planned Overhaul May Affect Its Ties with China" by Yu-Shan Wu, University of the Witwatersrand.

The commentary suggests that proposed AU reforms may result in a different approach to Africa's partnership summits with countries such as China and Japan.

UN Support Office for African Union Mission in Somalia

The International Peace Institute published in February 2017 a study titled "UN Support to Regional Peace Operations: Lessons from UNSOA" by Paul D. Williams, George Washington University.

The study provides an overview of the origins and deployment in the field of the United Nations Support Office for the African Union Mission in Somalia (UNSOA). It then analyzes five sets of challenges that constrained the mission's effectiveness from its creation in 2009 through 2015.

South Sudanese Push Back Against Oversight Government

The New York Times published on 23 January 2017 an article titled "Quandary in South Sudan: Should It Lose Its Hard-Won Independence?" by Jeffrey Gettleman.

The article reports a proposal for some kind of African Union transitional government to replace the existing government in South Sudan. There are other proposals that constitute an international trusteeship led by the United Nations and African Union. Gettleman reports there is strong resistance among the plurality Dinka ethnic group to any such proposal.

Three Questions about the African Union Mission in South Sudan

The Atlantic Council published on 19 July 2016 a commentary titled "Three Questions about the African Union Mission in South Sudan" by Kelsey Lilley, Atlantic Council.

The author asks how many troops will deploy and how quickly, what is the mandate of the force, and who will pay for it?

The African Union and a Force Intervention Brigade for South Sudan

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) published on 20 July 2016 a commentary titled "The AU's Silver Bullet to End Fighting in South Sudan?" by Peter Fabricius, ISS consultant.

The African Union has proposed that it add a robust African intervention brigade to UNMISS in South Sudan to deal with the recent conflict between the forces of Salva Kiir and Riek Machar. Kiir opposes the idea while Machar favors it.

Journalist Visits al-Shabaab-held City

The Washington Times published on 31 March 2016 an article titled "Al-Shabab Offers Somalis Security, Stability in Exchange for Shariah Law" by Tonny Onyulo.  While an interesting account by someone who actually visited the al-Shabaab held town of Barawe, the article goes out of its way to highlight the positive aspects of al-Shabaab and minimize the negative.