Munene, the journey...

President-Elect Trump successfully ran under the banner of making America first, reducing foreign 'interference' and trying new ways to work with partners on the international scene to solve some intractable challenges. The first tenet, in my opinion, is something that should interest African nations, because of the collective acknowledged viewpoint of making Africa work for Africans. Looking back at the powers that scrambled for Africa more than 125 years ago to present day, we see challenges that have been brought about by the fact that Africa still remains a playground for western powers. The Democratic Republic of Congo fails to move forward due to the strong interests that keep fueling violence in order to continue the parasitic extraction of the vast resources with little benefit to the people of Congo. The CFA countries of Central and West Africa still depend on precolonial arrangements with France to manage their monetary policies, stealing the initiative fro...

I am among those who were shocked when on November 9, I woke up to the news that the unlikeliest of presidential candidates had clinched the American presidency. I could not wrap my head around a Trump win, because it had been so unlikely! Where did it all come from? Should we blame so-called populism? O yes! Impossible it was! Trump had to surmount a 99% chance that Clinton was going to win. She had led the polls all along, and there was no chance for an upset. All polls except two or three had predicted a landslide win for Clinton. All the TV stations all talked about a Clinton presidency, as if the election was a forgone conclusion. But Trump won, and resoundingly so. Or as others have said, Clinton lost; well, semantics. We are in a transition period. Suffice it to say that it's an interesting one. However, since that fateful Wednesday, garbage has been picked up at my house, tap water still runs, and there's still power in the socket. Whilst this may seem obvious, it...