Donald Trump is, sadly, not the first person to make up an African country

Maybe it was the wine.
Maybe it was the wine.
Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock

Try to imagine a leader of a nation so unprepared for a speech at the United Nations that he or she stood before a podium and said, "I am so happy to be here in the United States of Amerca." 

President Donald Trump did something close to the equivalent of this on Wednesday when, in a speech before leaders of African nations, he lavished praise on the healthcare system of "Nambia."

You see: "Nambia" is not a country. And people online were quick to notice the gaffe.

The White House later published the speech, which showed Trump had meant to say "Namibia," which is a country.

Trump's gaffe adds another chapter to the storied tradition of white people and institutions making up African countries.

High Life, the in-flight magazine of British Airways, recently described Lupita Nyong’o as being from "Wakanda," a fictional country that appears in Black Panther comics. Nyong’o is not "from" Wakanda — she just stars in an upcoming adaptation of the comic series.

Equally cringe-inducing was when, during the 2016 Olympics, one announcer seemed to create several different countries during a swimming event when she couldn't pronounce Burkino Faso. 

Fictional African nations is a trope throughout pop culture — some of those made-up countries include Bocamo, Bologa, Equatorial Kundu, Gwinalla, Kenyopia, Ligeria, Nambutu, Republic of West Africa, Tanzaberia, Wadiya, and Zembala. But even though Trump isn't the first one to make up a fake African nation, as POTUS, his blunder might be the most embarrassing.

That, of course, belies an ignorance of the continent on westerners' part, unable to tell the difference. It's an ignorance only deepened by shifting boundaries and changing names due to decades of colonization. 

Namibia, an actual nation, is a relatively new one, having only gained independence from South Africa in 1990 following a quarter century of bloodshed.

The country is about half the size of Alaska, located in Africa's southwest. It's home to just 2.5 million people, though those people speak 13 national languages and are relatively spread out. Around 55 percent of Namibia's population is considered to live in rural areas. 

Mining is a large part of Namibia's economy, especially zinc, and it produces more uranium than all but four other nations on the planet. 

Maybe Trump can write all this on some flash cards next time.

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