Mo Ibrahim: Africa's Governance Slides as Strongmen Trend Spreads and Aid Cuts Bite

Mo Ibrahim, 80, a Sudanese-British billionaire who built his fortune in telecoms, told AFP that democracy and rights in Africa are sliding, and that some of the continent's leaders are taking their cues from strongmen rising elsewhere in the world. He has spent much of the money he made on monitoring and encouraging better governance across Africa, and his foundation's latest report is the basis for his warning.

The report tracks the decade from 2016 to 2025. It finds broad progress on economic opportunity and human development, but steep declines in security, human rights and public participation. Those declines came as Africa went through multiple military coups and devastating wars.

The overall picture is mixed. Thirty countries, home to half of Africa's population, had better overall governance scores in 2025 than in 2016, largely because their economies improved. But 23 countries deteriorated, and one was unchanged.

The sharpest drops came in some of the continent's largest countries and were often tied to reduced political rights. Seven of the ten countries with the biggest declines experienced at least one coup during the decade. Burkina Faso recorded the largest deterioration of all, while Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia were also among the worst performers.

Ibrahim pointed to elections held over the past year. In Tanzania, security forces were accused of killing thousands of protesters. In Uganda, he said, opposition leader Bobi Wine was "hunted and physically attacked." He called it "just disgraceful."

He links part of the decline to the weakening of liberal democracy worldwide, from the United States to Europe and Russia. "It is a strange era," he said, describing the rise of strongmen everywhere. An African leader watching that trend, he suggested, may ask why not me too, and conclude he can get away with it. He also singled out the Trump administration's move toward a more "transactional kind of diplomacy," which he said is weakening the international order and the rule of law.

A further challenge came last year, when Washington abruptly terminated USAID, ending billions of dollars of support to African countries. Ibrahim called the decision "brutal." He acknowledged that the United States has the prerogative to give aid or not, but said: "please give notice." So far, he said, Africa has proved fairly resilient, and the cuts have forced the continent to face reality. He argued that Africa must depend more on itself and work with any willing partners, whether Europe, China, India or others.

His hope, as ever, rests on young people. Already 60 percent of Africans are under 25, and by 2050 one in three young people worldwide will be African. He described them as much better informed and educated than the previous generation. Of his own generation he was blunt: "We wasted Africa," he said, admitting that it wasted real opportunities.

What to watch next is how the loss of US aid and the shift in American diplomacy play out in African governance, and whether leaders turn toward self-reliance and a wider range of partners, as Ibrahim urges.