E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Ghanadot
The word is out that a political party
in Ghana, vying for the 2008 elections, sees in Obama’s
victory a forecast of its own triumph come December; a
laughable conjecture except, sometimes, a drowning man, in
his own mind, should be allowed to embrace a straw!
But before we ruin the effects of Obama
victory by describing or associating it with something that
it is not, let us first recognize that his election will be
welcomed by many in the world for various reasons, among
which hatred for or dislike of President Bush will be one.
The other matter is that Africans ought
to see Obama’s victory as a necessary act, a providential
doing to lift up the race and a marker of our social
progress; regardless of our ideological affiliations or
where exactly we live on the planet. In this manner, it
must be as much welcoming news for Colin Powell and Jesse
Jackson just at it should be for Kufuor and Mugabe.
Obama’s victory is also a lesson in
democratic dispensation. He has been elected on a political
party’s ticket; a party not founded as a result of a coup;
nor coerced into existence in the wake of a violent
upheaval.
There has never been a coup in America
since her founding. There was a civil war, but in all, her
citizens have been respecters of institutions, traditions
and acts enshrined in the American constitution – a
constitution that has never been shredded.
Obama, the president elect of America,
puts the significance of his election right with his victory
speech.
He said, “"If there is anyone out there
who still doubts that America is a place where anything is
possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is
alive; who still questions the power of our democracy,
tonight is your answer…"
Obama was rooting for the American
ideal and dream and for nothing else.
Only in America, outside Africa, has it
been demonstrated that a citizen of African descent can rise
to the leadership of a country. This victory is a big moral
one for America, a country where Africans were first brought
to toil as slaves. Surely, this is a moment to cry for, as
many Blacks did, which occasion also caused the Reverend T.
D. Jakes to describe Obama as “the chosen one.”
This Obama phenomenon is not happening
in Europe, Russia, China, Japan or anywhere else in the near
future. Africa will do well to recast the implication in
her worldview.
The problem for Africa is that we may
read the wrong lessons from Obama’s victory. As much as we
will want to see him as African, he is still an American
first. America’s interest is what he will pursue as
president. In this regard he will not be different from any
of the presidents before him.
On access to the White House, he will
inherit the mantle of the leadership of the most powerful
nation on earth, and that will come with its own headaches
such as experienced by Bush, Clinton and others before
them. The notion that he will be loved because he is Obama
or African is a far fetched one or at best a honeymoon gag.
Obama will be hailed by the rest of the
world for as long as his policy choices are suitable or
amenable. Some would love him the most if he did not pursue
America’s interest first. One litmus test will be his
support for Israel and stance against terrorism. If it is
strong and robust he will be called the great Satan, crude,
the “ugly American,” just like Bush was called the
“cowboy.”
Obama’s weaknesses will be exploited as
Bush’s were. But Bush, for all his problems, did not have
to worry about race. As a Black president, Obama will be
vulnerable both at home and abroad, for racism would not
just roll away at the stroke of a pen.
Expectations, however, will be high.
Some world leaders would expect from Obama what they didn’t
get from Bush. For instance, they will expect him to be
“reasonable” in his fight against terrorism as if “reason”
alone is enough to frighten the likes of Osama bin Laden.
As a writer from the New York Times
puts it after the elections, “…(In) the shift from campaign
trail rhetoric to halls-of-governance reality could prove
turbulent. And Mr. Obama’s soaring speeches have created
such a well of anticipation that there is a deep danger of
letdown. “
African leaders will have no less
expectation. For this reason, Obama’s future policies on
relations with the continent can be fraught with the most
potential pitfalls. Regardless of what ones thoughts are on
Bush, his record in Africa is not something to dismiss
easily. It has been bold, generous, highly imaginative and
successful.
PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan
for Aids, is a good example of a policy that is working for
Africa and other Third World countries. And Bush’s MCA
program is being hailed as a success story in foreign aid.
In countries in Africa, Ghana included, the MCA program is
seen as a ladder for hope. It will definitely be a letdown
if reverses in these two programs should occur under Obama.
Meanwhile, Africa must continue to wish
Obama well.
