USAID in toxic controversy 

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was established on November 3, 1961, by President John. F. Kennedy to unite several existing foreign assistance organisations and programmes in the United States of America under one agency. 

It is an independent agency of the United States government that is primarily responsible for the management, and execution of more than half of all the long-term foreign assistance to developing countries.            

It is considered an independent US government agency because it enjoys greater autonomy from oversight of the Executive office of the president though entirely funded and managed under the direct authority and policy guidance of the Secretary of State. 

It implements programmes in global health, disaster relief, environmental protection, democratic governance and education. The US reportedly gave Africa more than $6.5 billion in humanitarian aid last year. 

But the agency has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. President Donald Trump who in his first term sought to slash USAID’s funding, has returned to make drastic changes to the agency as part of a sweeping review of all foreign aids. 

Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla and Space X, as the head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), asked his 215 million followers, ‘’Did you know that USAID, using your tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including Covid-19, that killed millions of people’’?          

Trump calls its leaders ‘’radical lunatics.’’ Musk branded the agency ‘’a criminal organisation’’ and says it ‘’has to die.’’ The US Congress man, Scott Perry, told the inaugural hearing of the sub-committee on delivering on Government Efficiency that USAID funded terrorist organisations, namely, ‘’Boko Haram, AL-Qaeda, ISIS Khorasan, terrorist training camps.’’ 

Perry further cited USAID’s reporting spending $136m for building 120 schools in Pakistan, alleging that there was zero evidence of the schools construction.             

Long before now critics have accused USAID of accidentally funding groups or individuals that have ties to extremist organisations, particularly in conflict zones. 

This often occurs because USAID operates in regions with complex political and security environments. The agency had equally been accused of being a front for intelligence operations or destabilising activities, including accusations of supporting insurgent or opposition groups.       

In 2014, USAID faced criticism for funding a secretive ‘’Cuban Twitter’’ programme aimed at fostering dissent against the Cuban government. It was seen as an example of using development programmes for political purposes. In conflict zones like Afghanistan and Syria, USAID has been accused of funding groups with extremist ties by providing them humanitarian aid.          

For decades, America has accused and sanctioned Iran as ‘’a sponsor of state terrorism because Iran allegedly sponsors Hizballah, the Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza and other terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq, and throughout the Middle East.’’ 

Today, in absolute desperation, the US is openly and unashamedly supporting and waging a global disinformation and propaganda war against Iran.         

As the US points fingers at Iran and others as sponsors of state terrorism, it is now discovering with the revelations on USAID, that three of its fingers are pointing back at it. 

Observers are affirming that there is now a compelling legal case to be made under American and international law that the US is committing state terrorism in Africa through hybrid wars.       

It is war by al means, using different ways to attack the enemy to ultimately win. Some of the ways include the spreading of false information, attacking important computer systems, kidnapping urban guerrilla warfare, and the use of sophisticated weaponry like drones.         

Analysts say the Trojan horse in the US hybrid war in Africa are the terrorist groups. Over the course of the last decade and half, the Ethiopian regime used state sponsored terrorism as a political weapon to maintain and consolidate its authoritarian grip over the population.  

As the ‘’war on terror’’ became the centerpiece of US foreign policy, Ethiopia positioned itself as Washington’s most reliable front line counterterrorism ally in the Horn of Africa – all in an effort to benefit from its unparalleled political and economic payoffs.              

The US has granted over $270 million to Hungarian American billionaire, George Soros’ pro-democracy organisations in the last 15 years. This money was passed through USAID programme to the East-West Management Institute, a pro democracy group, who partnered with the human rights group, the Soros’ Open Society Foundations,  

This revelation is coming amid growing scrutiny of USAID. Soros reportedly used this money to spread chaos in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, India, and the UK. And funded controversial initiatives in countries like Albania, Cambodia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Uganda.        

These revelations have raised pressing questions about accountability within USAID and the broader implications of lax oversight on foreign aid. Observers stress the need for a comprehensive and transparent investigation to prevent further misuse of US funds in supporting global terrorism. 

Tella Abdullahi,

Ilorin, Kwara state