Just after news broke about another mass kidnapping in Nigeria, the World Economic Forum, in the worst sort of cultural imperialism, lectured about Africa’s challenges, yet never mentioned Islamic terrorism.
Western wokies tend to talk of Africa firstly as if the whole continent were basically the same politically and culturally (which is preposterous), secondly as though a sufficient amount of Western money and Western experiments would automatically transform the whole continent, and thirdly as if the biggest threat to African nations is "climate change." There is no understanding, no complexity, no nuance, but a whole lot of misplaced justification and foolishly condescending lectures.
Thus, a French politician or American billionaire is delighted to justify corrupt leaders or to fund abortion or "green energy" projects in Africa, yet would overlook victims of internecine warfare or Islamic terrorism. All of which is to say that when the World Economic Forum (WEF) talks about Africa, you can be sure they will make fools out of themselves and propose all the wrong "solutions."
As usual, WEF babbled about "sustainability," "inclusive growth," and "energy supply" in a Davos 2026 article on the allegedly "bright outlook" for Africa. Ironically, misnamed "green" energy relies heavily on abusive and child labor in African mines were workers extract the necessary minerals in horrific conditions. Nuclear power, which WEF highlighted, also relies on the rare earths that fuel an exploitative system — as do, in fact, all our electronic devices. There's a crisis WEF didn't bother to mention.
Naturally, WEF whined about the United States cutting off the incredibly corrupt USAID money flow, whereby U.S. taxpayers spent billions of dollars on useless and unjustifiable programs that benefited no one but corrupt oligarchs. Apparently, defunding drag shows and woke media consultants is holding back African progress. Even WEF admitted the private sector ought to be the solution to the foreign aid dearth, however.
Related: Here’s What Happened When I Asked MetaAI About the WEF and Authoritarianism
WEF noted that 40% of the global youth population will be African by 2030, partly because some African nations, unlike most Western and Asian nations, are actually having children at the population replacement rate. But in predicting the marvelous power of African youth to shape the future, WEF did not talk about how Islamic terrorists are committing a genocide against the youth of multiple African nations, particularly Nigeria's, though also the DRC's and Sudan's (among others). There are other conflicts, too, that continue to disrupt millions of lives.
Indeed, just this week, locals in Nigeria's Kaduna state accused Fulani Islamic militants of kidnapping over 100 Christians after raids on three churches during worship services. Like the Western billionaires (e.g., Bill Gates) funding abortion and contraception programs in Africa, the terrorists in Nigeria and other nations are quite literally trying to wipe out a whole generation.
Perhaps if WEF spent less time hobnobbing with terrorist and authoritarian leaders in an insulated bubble and more time honestly assessing the crises facing different African nations, it wouldn't be part of the problem.
