US President Barack Obama used his "townhall" style engagement to talk to young Africans about the US opening up prospects for them, the strategic importance of Africa to the US and the war on terror, among other topics.
Obama was received warmly by the crowd at the University of Johannesburg campus in Soweto on Saturday, where he addressed young African leaders.
Upon his arrival, the crowd sang Shosholoza and songs about Nelson Mandela and Obama.
He returned the favour, shouting “yebo mzansi’ and also sprinkled his address with references to "Jozi" and "Madiba". He spoke about the significance of Soweto in 1976 and how that and Mandela had inspired him and broadened his outlook of the world
Addressing about 500 young South Africans who were also connected to young people in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, he said his interest was to see Africa not only being an exporter of raw material but to be the end recipient of the profits generated by its exports.
Obama said there was enormous opportunities for Africa to be intimately integrated into the world economy, and added that the African Growth and Opportunity Act was an attempt to help African economies.
But he said many more Africans wanted to stop relying on aid and to break the dependency trap. He said his programme for young African leaders would be expanded with hundreds of Africans being sent to America’s best universities and being given grants on their return to pursue their initiatives.
“Of course we are not helping out of charity. If Africa is doing well, it opens up markets that the US can sell iPads and planes to,” he added.
China’s presence in Africa
The US president sought to dispel the belief that the US was worried about China’s presence on the continent. “Our commitment to Africa is based on Africa’s promise and future. We think everybody should be involved in Africa India, Brazil, Singapore – everyone. Everyone should be excited about doing business here”.
In what could be a swipe to China – a country that has been criticised for its interest in the continent – Obama emphasized that whichever country came to Africa for business, should ensure that ultimately they benefit Africans.
He said more African states should hold each other to account instead of being lectured by the US. He added that business can choose to go anywhere, explaining that countries with lack of skills or poor democratic credentials stood to lose potential investment.
On the war on terror, he acknowledging that more Africans and people in Middle East countries were dying from war on terror than Americans; saying this demonstrated that it was a problem for everyone.
At the Soweto Campus, Obama said he was elected by Americans to end the war and he had succeeded in ending one (Iraq presumably), and was about to end another one (Afghanistan presumably).
He spoke about his daily pain advising young people who had their legs blown off during the war and writing letters to families of fallen soldiers.