Boris Johnson: Make Africa smile or make dem tink am well?
How Africa suppose react to Britain Boris Johnson new goment wey fix eye for plan to waka comot Brexit?
Na wit smile, abi make dem no send or make dem tink am well? Wetin e go mean for Africa if power change hand inside di same party for far way Britain? Dem no send Di era of empire plus telegram from Colonial Office for Whitehall don pass tey tey. Na so too wit di time wey Africa pipo bin dey send di politics of di kontri wey bin get di riches of half of di world for im hand. Dis days UK sanitation inspectors plus oda goment officials dey galavant different parts of Africa but nobodi dey notice and nobodi send dem. Na di same tin, to some extent wit Britis royal family sef. And na so e suppose be. Africa dey change fast. Today, na Chinese goment officials dem dey happy to welcome as dem cari cheques come, dem dey also welcome solar power investors from United Arab Emirate and India, actors and music celeb dem from US, Russia nuclear officials and Brazil business men. China don become major investor for Africa Now too dem don dey seriously throw red carpet for wey from oda Africa kontris - as continent wey bin dey disconnected before don dey come togeda due to di road and train dem wey China dey build, to begin focus more on demsef instead of on outsiders for help on top tins wey dem fit do for demsef. True, Commonwealth still dey useful. And true, e dey possible say one day one day dem fit get trade deal wit UK and dat too dey important. But na also true say Africa dey for di back of di queue for any of dis deals and who know wen e go eva happun? "Dis one go take many years before e go happun and dat go mean say Africa go wait tire," na so British peer Lord Peter haain tok. E say even if dem get smooth Brexit, "dat one still mean say di transition go tey...and na complicated road dey for front." UK dey enjoy close relationship wit many parts of Africa and dat no go change. But for now, Africa get plenty tins wey dey worry and wahala of Brexit no follow. Di Smile For many years di bureau bracy for EU almost kee instead of to encourage business wit Africa. If oga Johnson goment fit to break di EU bondage, dis continent - wit im strong language relationship, history and culture plus im appreciation of British value - go jump at opportunity of new partnership and business deal wit London. Boris Johnson visit Ghana wen he be UK foreign secretary "Brexit dey good for Africa. Boris Johnson and im goment in particular good for am. Reztrictions bin increase [under EU]," Rob Hersoy on south Africa wey be founder and chairman of Invest Africa tok. If Britain goment leave EU den, oga Hersoy predict say, "doors go open." Di reality be say Africa get positive view of Britain. Everybodi go line up to do deal." im tok. Africa middle class dey grow Na true say China don dominate investment for Africa for about twenty years now, and say UK and US go try catch up. But di structure wey Bejing dey build don help open new market plus opportunity for kontris and companies ready to take di opportunity. Still, Africa dey too big and to complicated to just look am from di side of business. Katakata dey force Africa pipo to leave dia homes Security, climate change, migration plus oda health emergency like Ebola dey important, and for each of dis wahala UK go continue to play important role - and dem no go change just change becos Johnson dey goment. UK fit still dey contribute 0.7% of im kontri income for foreign help and development. But oga Johnson goment fit prefer to focus im support Africa business pipo. Tink am well Why Africa gatz try overlook di many bad tok wey UK new prime minister don tok about dia continent all dis years? Oga Johnson fit dey hope say dem go dismiss some of im toks wey im tok before as play. Make we no for say im write one time about UK and Africa relationship say "di problem no be say we bin dey in charge once upon a time, but say we no dey in charge again." Many Africa pipo be slaves during colonialism Many Africa goment fit wan ignore im tok and focus on di future. But e dey clear say, oga Johnson behaviour wen im be UK foreign secretary no only offend Africa pipo, e cause some damage. For example, di issue of decolonisation and di continent support for Mauritius as e fight wit UK on top ownership of Chagos Islands. UK isolation for Europe sake of Brexit, di yeye way wey oga Johnson take handle Chagos mata and di way Africa dey unite and dem no get patience for nonsense, all help push United Nations to ignore London protest and to sama dem humiliating defeat for UN and International Court of Justice (ICJ). Finally, assuming Brexit happun, and UK become free to begin - or even to complete like di case of kontri like South Africa - negotiate new business deal, e fit sharply discover say, as im no dey EU market wit 500million consumers, Africa kontris go make di bargain hard. Na Sout Africa correspondent Andrew Harding write dis analysis