The President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump (photo), has raised questions as to why the U.S was still spending money to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and why all of the abducted Chibok girls have not been rescued.

This is part of the queries contained in a four-page write up of Africa-related questions relating to terrorism and corruption raised by Donald Trump’s transition team, obtained by the New York Times.

These questions have surprised African specialists, who said the framing and the tone of the questions suggest that America is withdrawing from development and humanitarian goals.

According to Monde Muyangwa, the director of the Africa program at the Woodrow Wilson Institute, many of the queries are the right questions that any new administration should ask, but it could also indicate a dramatic turn in how the United States will engage with the continent.

Even though the document reflects a first look at how the new administration might approach policy toward Africa, the questions also accurately reflect Trump’s views of Africa.

Militant Islamist group, Boko Haram, has caused a lot of havoc in Nigeria through a wave of bombings, assassinations and abductions. The group which is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state has killed close to 20,000 people since it began in 2009 and more than 2.6 million others have been rendered homeless.

The U.S’ involvement in the fight against this group began in 2014 when it sent some 80 military personnel to Nigeria after the group kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in Chibok.

Anita Fatunji