Blinken’s Nigeria speech was a notable departure from his predecessor’s comments when it came to Africa, signaling that the Biden administration was distancing itself from Trump’s view of Africa. That speech, and the new strategy, recognized the continent’s indispensable role in the provision of global public goods and resolution of global crises. Africa’s population was mentioned less as a liability, as Westerners are wont to do, and more as a strategic asset. A combination of the continent’s demographics, its ownership of thirty percent of the world’s strategic minerals (as we ...