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Obama and His Race
By Spreading democracy
around the world is not America’s most important foreign policy
objective. America’s major pre-occupation is with maintaining its
leadership position in the world. A dictatorship that works for this
position is as acceptable to America as a democracy that does not
challenge it. This fundamental objective of “pre-eminence” has informed
the foreign policy behaviour of every American President since the Cold
War era; Barack Obama cannot be an exception. The visit of President
Obama to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two authoritarian states, while merely
dishing out a lecture on democracy to “giant” Nigeria from neighbouring
Ghana, should be seen from the context of America’s foreign policy
priorities. Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia are crucial to the realisation of
America’s interests in the Middle East. America’s somewhat muted response
to Iran’s hotly disputed presidential election was deliberately intended
not to infuriate the government of that nation. Any “lecturing” would
have jeopardised the prospects of achieving an acceptable compromise on
Iran’s nuclear power ambitions. Of course Barack Obama would also not
criticise Israel publicly, not least because of political implications
back home in the United States. Foreign policy, it must be said, is
cameleon-like and America is the master in that respect. We in Nigeria arrogantly
assumed our nation should have been Barack Obama’s first port of call in
Africa. The American President may not have a monopoly in the choice of
which country he visits, one thinks the State Department plays a major
role in that. However, Obama’s visit to Africa was more of a courtesy
call than anything else. In the event that no major American interest was
at stake Ghana, which has been doing well in the eyes of the world,
deservedly earned the destination of an historic visit as a note of
approval and encouragement. Whereas such a visit to a country like
Nigeria would be undeserved, Obama’s handshake with its key politicians
would, as Reuben Abati suggested, have been an endorsement of corruption
and mediocrity. In this regard, reflecting and profiting from his
memorable speech to Africa from Accra is what matters most to those of us
who genuinely seek change in the continent. Much has been said and
written about the speech by Barack Obama. A few compulsive critics might
say that he talked down to Africa but such a criticism would be far from
the truth. Barack Obama, in this writer’s view, talked to Africa as one
who genuinely believed he had a personal stake in the continent –
aggrieved by corruption and maladministration. He was more or less saying
that he could not see himself as an accomplished human being while the
race he identifies with is unaccomplished. There was hardly any
issue Barack Obama raised in his speech that could be said to be untrue or
exaggerated. Even on the highly contentious issue of colonialisation, he
was spot on. The bitter truth is that colonialisation, though an
historical injustice, cannot continue to be proferred as an explanation
for Africa’s lack of progress. Colonialisation, some might argue, is not
without its own advantages as the colonialists did not come to Africa to
destroy schools and hospitals! Those political thieves who exploited and
continue to exploit their own peoples as well as celebrate their
ignorance, are the worst enemies of Africa’s progress. Barack Obama’s honesty
about the plight of his race, even if his critics would sometimes say he
was playing to the gallery of white America, has been consistent since he
came to the world stage. Radical African-American scholars of the civil
rights persuasion would argue that racism is responsible for the overall
conditions of the black community but Barack Obama’s message has always
been for blacks to show ambition and more responsibility in their private
lives. In a recent speech he delivered to the National Association for
the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), the oldest and most venerated
civil rights group in the US, he enjoined blacks to strive to excel in
medicine and the sciences rather than just being athletes and rappers. The rise of Balack Obama
from a maligned ethnic background to the apex of American, if not world,
politics, should be an inspiration to all of us. The Barack Obama story
is not what can be replicated easily in a society that has not prepared
itself for it. It took America more than a century of commitment to
produce its Barack Obama; for us, in Africa, Nigeria in particular, it is
about a determination to rebuild our various societies from scratch. It
is about creating an enlightened and rational citizenry from an
environment ravaged by ignorance and superstition. It is about the future
of our children and our children’s children. Education is the gate to
the future. The goal of education should not just be to produce
individuals who can read and write, it should be about cultured
individuals to whom the future of society can be entrusted – individuals
who are honest, confident and disciplined. Such a new generation will
shun cultism and the culture of extra-constitutional oath taking. With
truly educated men and women, our collective aspirations as a people are
destined to be achieved. The cultured citizenry will ensure that
democracy is true democracy and that our economy is in capable hands. As
the great Nnamdi Azikiwe is quoted to have said, “Education is for
service, and service is for humanity”. Education is a continuing
process. One feels distressed when a Nigerian says the reason he or she
does not read a newspaper is because they cannot afford to buy one. Here
one is in the City of Oxford reading whatever books and newspapers one
wants to read, even when not having a penny in one’s pocket! One can tell
President Musa Yar’Adua and whoever cares to listen that every major
street in Oxford has a well-furnished and well-equipped public library.
This is the culture in every city, town and village throughout Britain.
Is this beyond what the Local Government Councils can do for our
communities in Nigeria? Will it not also be a good idea if we have a repository library in each of the states where, by law, a copy of every published item in the federation is deposited and preserved? Of course a key university can be chosen for that purpose.
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