US must not ignore African nations' needs

The United States is far from a perfect place, especially in this age. Economic trouble, two wars and an ever-increasing political schism fuel current American problems. Despite our own country's issues, Americans always seem to be ready to help a nation experiencing a disaster, whether it be natural or otherwise. For example, Americans recently rushed to the aid of Haiti and Chile.

Unfortunately, the U.S. is often grossly late in responding to African states' plights.

Simmering human rights situations in Rwanda and Sudan were pushed to the backburner until they careened out of control.

We, the self-proclaimed protectors of human rights worldwide, let Rwanda and Sudan down. And now we may be on the way to letting Nigeria down, too.

March 7, a group of machete-wielding Muslim Nigerians slaughtered more than 200 of their countrymen in the predominately Christian towns of Dogo Nahawa, Zot and Ratsat.

The attacks were first thought to be motivated by religion, but former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is pointing to deep-seeded ethnic, economic and social issues.

"If you have one group or a community that has land that's been encroached upon by another community or even by itinerant cattle farmers, then the people who lay claim to the land will fight back," Obasanjo said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

As most learned in high school, scarcity is the essential economic problem. People compete for resources to fulfill their wants, and there are not enough resources to satisfy every person. When people compete for limited resources in an area already suffering extreme poverty, tensions are bound to snap in fits of violence.

It's easy to get caught up in our country's economic problems, but at least we aren't under the threat of death by machete.

The ongoing events in Nigeria not only demonstrate the Western World's tendency to ignore Africa's dilemmas but also the fragile economic state of less fortunate countries.

It's time for the U.S. (and the world) to start showing genuine concern for Africa's well-being. The actions taken to promote better conditions in Africa have been almost entirely reactionary.

Thousands of people dead in Rwanda: Well, I guess it's time to step in and stop a total genocide.

Dire conditions in Darfur: Sure, we'll help out (only after hundreds of thousands are already dead, of course).

We need to take proactive steps to prevent crises before they start. I find it hard to believe the U.S. government didn't know the conditions in Nigeria were ripe for a tragedy of this caliber. And instead of trying to avert a massacre, we sat around and waited to react.

If we continue our wait-and-react approach to Africa, we will continue to fail an entire continent.

e-mail: jacksoba@sbu.edu