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UNITED States President Barack Obama wound up his five-day African tour with an address to the African Union at the continental body’s headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia yesterday but his “homecoming” visit will largely be viewed in the context of the West’s waning influence in Africa and China’s rising stock.

While he sought to assure African countries that the US offers “real economic partnerships” with the continent, his message was hollow as figures indicate that Africa is increasingly turning to Beijing which has over the past decade emerged as the pre-eminent strategic business partner for the African continent.

Chinese investment and trade with Africa far outweighs the volume of American or European business. Official figures indicate that China has invested a total of $100 billion across most African countries since 2010 – a figure which dwarfs a relatively modest investment of $14 billion announced earlier this year by the Obama administration.

In addition, Africa’s annual trade with China has grown in leaps and bounds to around $200 billion compared with the EU-Africa figure of $140 billion and $70 billion for the US.

So as President Obama trumpeted Western ideals of good governance, rule of law and lectured African leaders on democracy, the irony was not lost on his audience that he was doing so at the new and prestigious multi-storey AU headquarters built three years ago thanks to a $200 million gift from the Chinese government.

The growing influence of China in Africa is largely down to its foreign policy which anchors its partnerships with host countries on equality and mutual respect for the internal affairs of its trading partners. While the West puts a lot of emphasis on humanitarian assistance dispensed through meddlesome non-governmental organisations, China’s investment in Africa has been used to develop infrastructure in transport, urban development, a host of public services, power utilities, hospitals, schools and universities.

The Chinese have also brought modern telecommunications infrastructure including internet and mobile phone services that have had a transformative impact.

Granted, the Chinese have a vested interest in Africa which they view as a rich source of raw materials to feed their economy’s voracious appetite for growth but their strategic partnerships across the continent make business sense.

Unlike the Europeans who have a history of plundering the continent’s wealth and leaving it poor, the Chinese are bringing in capital which African countries are using to reach their development potential. The legacy of the West in Africa is sullied by its colonial baggage and the neo-colonial tendencies of some countries such as Britain and France have done little to endear them to their erstwhile colonies.

Libya, now officially a failed state following the Nato-assisted toppling of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, is an example of how democracy is not a one size fits all formula.

African leaders have always counseled their Western counterparts on the need to refrain from interfering in the affairs of other nations but it seems their words have fallen on deaf ears.

Yesterday, President Obama reminded them that they are failures who need massive hand holding and lectures to toe the line and acquiesce to Western dictates to be considered equals in the wider community of nations.

Like truant children, African leaders were told that they were dictators who held on to power, corrupt demagogues who fleece and plunder the wealth of their nations leaving their citizens poor and oppressors who do not respect the rights of women and children.

While we agree with President Obama on the need to protect the rights of women and children, we differ with him on the condescending attitude of the West towards African leaders and institutions. Africa deserves to be treated as an equal in all spheres of life be it trade or politics.

The respect for human rights should apply to all nations not only those considered poor, small and weak. We wish to remind the American President that in his own country, this year alone, there were more than 500 killings by police officers and about 140 of the victims were blacks.

The vast majority of the officers involved were white but have not been sanctioned. Human rights campaigners are rightly peeved that in his seven years in the White House — Obama, the first black President of the US — appears to have taken little action to uphold justice for minorities.

So as he departs the continent of his father’s birth, President Obama should reflect on the skewed relationship between Africa and the developed world and the need to have a real partnership based on mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The US can help Africa by allowing it to benefit from its natural resources by aiding in efforts to beneficiate the continent’s raw materials so that the finished products can fetch higher prices on the world market.