Good People, if you do get USAID aid and grants, please my post was not after you. Sure, I understand the perturbations the recent changes on USAID will trigger across Africa. I truly feel for everyone affected, including the citizens, companies and communities.
But note this: I did not vote for Trump even though I wrote that he would win. And I do not like most of his policies. But on decoupling USAID, I want to commend him for doing that in Nigeria and Africa.
USAID has a budget of about $50 billion and it uses that budget to distort markets. I can name at least 14 companies which folded because of illegal grant distortions where once the grants are made, the market goes and the companies shut down. Then over time, the grant finishes, and the people are back to square one. So, when you look at these grants and aids, they do not offer any sustainable path to economic emancipation.
That said, as Trump plans to set up a sovereign wealth fund for the US, I recommend Nigeria as a place for investment. Yes, replace USAID grants with investing funds in Nigeria. We welcome the beautiful America and want USAID 2.0 to do whatever it is doing via investments. That will force the USAID 2.0 to offer a sustainable and enduring playbook in African communities.
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order mandating the creation of a sovereign wealth fund within the next year, a move that could place the U.S. alongside several nations that have used similar investment vehicles to leverage state-owned assets for economic growth.
The order, issued on Monday, instructs the Treasury and Commerce Departments to submit a proposal within 90 days outlining key aspects of the fund, including its funding mechanisms, investment strategies, governance structure, and operational framework.
While sovereign wealth funds are commonly utilized by nations with significant budget surpluses—such as those in the Middle East and Asia, where they are funded by oil revenues—Trump’s directive raises immediate questions about how such a fund could be established in the United States, which operates at a deficit. The plan’s feasibility remains unclear, as its creation would likely require congressional approval, given the absence of a fiscal surplus to support it.
You can ask, what happens to those who need immediate help? I have explained on how Africa has managed such in the past; we need to scale such initiatives to help our vulnerable population even as we pursue an enduring economic development.
In my village of Ovim, there is a framework which has enabled the rise of the free market and support of the vulnerable so that people do not go to bed on empty stomachs. In Agbongele Ugwunta, it is an ordinance till TODAY that any crop grown there belongs to the community. The idea is that you can have a big farm which you run and make money, but there is a chance that not everyone can afford the produce.
To help those who may be unable to pay, you willingly go to Agbongele and plant things and nurture things knowing that your fellow citizens will use those things. It is an abomination to harvest and sell anything in Agbongele as it is for in-need consumption. While in the village, I did plant and was proud to see it grow, knowing that one day someone will need it to avoid hunger!
