Group Condemns Trump’s Categorisation of Africa as ‘Shithole’

Ololade Adeyanju/

The African Studies Association (ASA) has expressed outrage at President Donald Trump’s characterisation of African nations as “shithole countries.”

ASA is a scholarly organisation composed of over 2,000 university academics based in the United States, Europe and Africa.

The American president was widely reported to have made this comment in conversation with members of Congress.

ASA in a statement condemning Trump’s comment said it was “shocking that such crude racist expressions of xenophobia are now part and parcel of executive office discourse. Not only do President Trump’s words disparage the people of an entire continent, on issues of immigration they defy reality.”

The statement further read: “According to the last U.S. Census Bureau report, Africans account for only four percent of the total foreign-born population in the United States, but the educational attainment of that four percent far exceeds the average of all of those born outside of the U.S. Indeed, 41 percent of African residents in the U.S. hold bachelors degrees or higher.

“Nigerians, who have been singled out by the President on previous occasions, are among the most educated group in the U.S., with some 61 percent holding bachelors degrees and 17 percent masters degrees.”

“We strongly encourage those in and around the Oval Office to do their homework and urge them and all levels of government to acknowledge the enormous contributions that African immigrants have made to the economic and social fabric of the United States,” the statement added.