When Senator Barack Hussein Obama the son of a Kenyan father and American mother started his political campaign to go to the White House as American president four years ago, some Africans both at home and in the Diaspora thought it was a joke of the year. In the oil city of Warri some people specifically stated “How can a Blackman rule America and that it has never happened since America gained independence? Eventually, Senator Barack Obama was elected the 44th American President. Recently, he was re-elected for a second tenure. Since I am an original ‘Warri’ boy let me say that our well known parable in the oil city of Warri “Play, play, play, play, turn to eat and go”. Based on Obama’s success in first and second elections in the US, I think the Warri parable should be generally accepted world over.
In a discussion with a group of educated, enlightened and experienced Nigerians most of whom are in highly responsible positions in the industries (including the media, universities, civil/public service among others), during Obama’s first presidential campaign in the US, some of them were of the view that Senator Barack Obama would be frustrated out from the campaign at the “injury time”. Some of these my educated and exposed friends made specific mention of Tom Bradley, black man, who was the favoured candidate for the governorship political campaign, Bradley had a double-digit lead over his non-black opponent. This support, according to my friends evaporated on the day of the election. In other words, the non-black voters became apprehensive of having a black man as their governor. Consequently, Bradley lost. Today, Obama is a pride of Africans for occupying the White House in his first tenure and subsequently second tenure.
Furthermore, during Obama’s first campaign, the issue of a black becoming American president was a very hot debate in the Warri metropolis and some were of the opinion that it was impossible linking it to the denial of a Blackman to become Pope of the Catholic Church. Some of them especially the catholic faithful were of the view that a black man especially Nigerian was denied the highest position, Pope at the last minute. They felt this will also happen on the issue of black American President. Happily, the reverse became the case for Obama’s first and second tenure. Senator Barack Obama has really made history and now pride of Africans as the first black African President of the US for a two term.
However, Martin Luther King once said that “the black and the white will later intermarry and that one day a black will become American President”. When he made the statement the world saw it as impossible. Today, the ‘impossibility’ has become ‘possibility’ with Obama’s success in the first and second elections. Again, when a Canadian philosopher, professor of English, elder statesman, media guru, lawyer, Marshall MchLuan said in 1963 that the world is a global village, the world thought then he was a joker. At least, the last and latest American Presidential election was watched all over the world in fact all nooks and crannies at the same time.
Happily, one can boldly and proudly say that throughout the political campaign for the general elections in his first and second tenure, Obama remained the phenomenon that he has always been. In spite of the fact that other political adversaries resorted to scandalizing him, he maintained his focus on issues and consistently played politics of ideas. As a result, he lifted the spirit of Americans with his message of change during his campaign and I think this was why he received the support of Americans including sixty-five American Nobel Laurettes. Based on the change, a distinguished member of the Republican Party who was the secretary of state during George W. Bush first term, Mr. Collin Powel threw his weight behind Obama.
Importantly, African leaders should learn that throughout the political campaign period, during Obama’s first tenure, the incumbent president George W. Bush never abandoned his official assignments for campaign rallies to present John McCain to the electorates as the preferred or anointed successor. Again, he had no hand whatsoever in the primaries. This, I think and believe will serve as great lesson among the blacks. That is, there was no bad belle beginning from the primaries. The first and second political campaign focused on issues that were relevant to the interest of Americans economy, change, security, foreign relations among others. The developing countries especially Africans should note that election materials were not hijacked no shooting indiscriminately by ‘special boys’ at the voting centres or any other evil act. Registration materials were never carried to the residence of the ‘big boys’ for thumb printing secretly by as many people as possible. Importantly, the political parties worked very hard to win the sympathy of the electorate because the electorate fate of the candidates is to be determined by the voters and not before the election day as it is the practice in some African countries.
As a political observer and analyst that closely monitored the campaigns, I can say that the campaigns were not financed from the government purse and the candidates were not handpicked by political godfathers or godmothers. At the end, it was abundantly and crystal clear that a cabinet of experienced and versatile professionals will be formed. Again, let our African leaders learn from this.
Currently, the United States is where it is based on the fact that it has continuously tapped from whoever is able to offer whatever will advance the country in any way. It is on record that former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright is a polish immigrant, Collin Powell’s parents came to US from Jamaica. It is also on record that both contributed progressively to the development of America. In some African countries, you hear zoning, federal character principle. That is, someone must come from a particular zone to fill their quota, academic qualifications, experience among others would not be made rigid. I am aware that the U.S. federal character policy is for the best candidates not for the anointed ones by godfathers and godmothers. With these setback policies, how can some of the African countries develop and deliver. African leaders continue to congratulate Obama for his landslide victory, let us borrow a leaf from the U.S.A. and think positively. The various election tribunals and the courts in Nigeria should continue to sit regularly in order to address malpractice in election or otherwise.
During his first tenure, Obama made only one trip to Sub-Saharan Africa and made it abundantly clear that he would not be smothering the continent with attention. He made it clear in Ghana that Africa’s future is up to Africans. Also in the first tenure, the focus was on headline-hogging conflicts in Ivory Coast, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan and even a close-run election in Zambia.
I think the start of Obama’s second term is likely to be pre-occupied with more of same international efforts to remove al-Qaeda-linked rebels from the north of Mali, by force or negotiation or both, and efforts to ensure that Zimbabwe and Kenya avoid repeating the violence that wrecked their last elections. His second term may give him an opportunity to move away from the distorting, “war on terror” preoccupations of Mali and Somalia, and focus on the broader issues, trade in particular, that he raised three years ago in Ghana according to BBC reports.
Senator Barack Obama was born on the 4th of August 1961 at Honolulu Hawaii and he attended Columbus University, Harvard Law School. He is married to Michelle Robinson and has two daughters, Sasah and Malia. Obama is a Christian of the United Church of Christ (UCC). In summary, his father Barack Obama, snr., married his mother, Ann Dunham, while studying at the University of Hawaii. Eventually, the couple separated two years after Obama was born. His father later returned to Kenya, where he became a noted economist. He died in a road accident in 1982. The second marriage of Obama’s mother was an Indonesian-man called Lolo Soetoro. The family moved to Indonesia and Obama remained there until he became 10 years when he moved back to Hawaii and lived with his grandparents while studying on a scholarship at the prestigious Punahou Academy. Obama has seven half brothers and a sister in Kenya from his father’s other marriages, and a half sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng from his mother’s second marriage.
After completing his college education in 1983, Obama was engaged at a New York financial consultant and a consumer organization. Later, he got another job in Chicago in 1985 as an organizer for Developing Communities Project, a church-based group seeking to improve on living conditions in poor neighbourhoods. Three years later, Obama proceeded to Harvard Law School where he became the first black president of the law school review in view of his intelligence, ability, agility, and professionalism. He worked as a summer associate at the Sidley Austin Law firm in Chicago where he met his future wife. After graduating from Harvard in 1991, Obama practiced Civil Rights Law at a small firm in Chicago, and then became a lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Chicago in 1993.
It is on record that Obama won a seat in the Illinois state and ethics legislation, as well as a measure requiring electronic recording of police interrogations and confessions in homicides investigations. Obama won a heavily contested U.S. Senate seat in 2004, carried 53 percent of the Democratic primary votes in an eight candidate race. He easily won the general election. In the senate, he compiled a liberal voting record, but was of the few democrats to back a measure on class-action lawsuits. To this end, he opposed the appointments of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Charles Ikedikwa Soeze, fhnr, fcida, fcai, fscam cpae, son, emba, ksq, is a public affairs analyst and mass communication scholar from first degree to doctoral level and currently Assistant Director (Administration)/Head, Academic and Physical Planning (A&PP) at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria. (08036724193). charlessoeze@yahoo.ca
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