Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo on Saturday said Donald Trump’s reported description of African nations as “shithole countries” was unacceptable, while his predecessor branded the US head of state a racist.
“We will not accept such insults, even from a leader of a friendly country, no matter how powerful.”
In 2009 Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, chose Ghana’s capital Accra to set out his foreign policy goals for Africa in a speech in which he said he saw Africa “as a fundamental part of our interconnected world”.
Africans were “partners with America on behalf of the future we want for all of our children. That partnership must be grounded in mutual responsibility and mutual respect”, he said.
Akufo-Addo’s comments follow a strongly worded African Union statement on Friday and a demand from African ambassadors at the United Nations for a retraction and an apology.
The group of UN diplomats said it was “extremely appalled at, and strongly condemns the outrageous, racist and xenophobic remarks”.
