The condemning of US President Donald Trump's reference to African nations as "shitholes" by the African Union, a group representing the continent's countries, and African ambassadors to the United Nations was a good step. 

While the growing denigration of Africans and people of colour by the US administration is worrying, it should  push Africans from being beholden to foreign benefactors and strive towards self-sufficiency  and  self-determination. 

The same gusto that the continent used to condemn the unfortunate rhetoric should also be applied back home by not relegating African populations to mere statistics and fuel to meet selfish political ends, but investing in them to actualize their skills and potential for ultimate productivity and dignity.