Senator Obama with Nobel
Peace Prize winner WangariMathai
in Nairobi
in 2006: In rejecting a stop
in Kenya, is Obama behaving like a Kenyan?
In Snubbing Kenya, Obama Acts Like a Typical 'Luo' Man (The Citizen, Tanzania)
"In Africa, a son inherits his father's ethnicity and all things
related to it, which means President Barack Obama is a Luo,
and at least unofficially, a Kenyan citizen. He is neither an African-American,
nor an American citizen. ... Has he snubbed his ancestral home? Not at all! He
is simply being an American president! Unlike African presidents who spend a
good deal of money, time and energy making themselves and their families happy,
an American president is answerable to his people, and he can be punished if
things go south."
Then-Senator Barack Obama at Kenya's Masai Mara game reserve in 2006. His decision not to visit the country during his presidency is a particularly pointed message to that nation's political leadership.
"Choices
have consequences." Weeks before Kenya's general election in March, those
were the words of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie
Carson. Carson has since retired.
These
words, extremely unpleasant to hear for a sovereign nation, were meant to warn
Kenyans against allowing Uhuru Kenyatta and his fellow inductee, William Ruto,
to become president and vice president, respectively. Note my use of the word "allowing"
- not "electing." Apart from untold other issues, the duo faces
charges at the International Criminal Court related to post-election violence
in 2007-2008.
Although
the American government praised Kenyans for holding a relatively peaceful
election, when compared to every other election since the reintroduction of
multiparty politics in the early 1990s, Washington hasn't bothered to say a
word to Kenyatta, and in fact snubbed his inauguration.
So,
is it fair to say that the choices Kenyans have made cost them a visit by
someone they consider one of their own? Yes it is.
In
Africa, a son inherits his father's ethnicity and all things related to it,
which means President Barack Obama is a Luo, and at least
unofficially, a Kenyan citizen. He is neither an African-American, nor an
American citizen.
In
fact, for those who have closely followed Obama, especially those who know a lot
about the Luo people, the American president clearly
displays the traits of a Luo man, such as rock-solid self confidence and a bit
of arrogance. One could simply call it a swaggering attitude. That means being
witty, oratorically talented, dressed smartly all the time, somehow aloof, and
with a preference for fish on his dinner table. Is this stereotyping? Yes!
Sometimes it works! In any case, biologically, half of everything in Obama must
be from his father's side.
So
has he snubbed his ancestral home? Not at all! He is simply being an American
president! Unlike African presidents who spend a good deal of money, time and
energy making themselves and their families and friends happy, an American
president is seriously answerable to his people, and he can be punished either
politically or legally if things go south.
Thus,
for Obama to plan a visit to Africa, "his homeland," he had to take
into account a lot of issues, which is why some of us weren't surprised that he
avoided concentrating on the African continent during his first term. He played
it smart, otherwise his foes, the Republicans, conservative Americans, and
underground racists, would have created lots of trouble for his re-election.
He
dodged that noose! In any event, during his first term, Obama toured two
African countries, although most Americans could tell you only about one,
Ghana, where he spent less than 24 hours. When he went to Egypt, American
officials said he was visiting a Middle Eastern country to speak to the Arab
world. Unfortunately, in geopolitical thinking of Americans, there is no
Africa, only sub-Saharan Africa, and North Africa is part of the Middle East.
Certainly,
at a personal level, Obama was overly cautious about engaging Africa, and that
may have hurt the position of the United States in this newly-calibrated world.
He avoided Africa even more than his adversaries may have wished, even
forgetting that Africa is an emerging continent.
Kagame continues: "Over the past decade,
the continent's economies have grown at an average 5 percent per annum."
That
is why the new Chinese President Xi Jinping wasted no
time to tour Africa. Don't be surprised if political entertainers say that Obama
is retracing the Chinese President's steps. Xi visited Tanzania, South Africa
and Congo-Brazzaville. For Obama, just replace Congo with Senegal, and the June
26-July 3 tour is complete.
Anyway,
Kenyans should recall what Obama told them when he visited the country as a
senator in 2006: "I am not a Kenyan politician, I am an American
politician." That was enough of a message, but perhaps Kenyans, as hearty
Africans, didn't get it.
Dear
Kenyans, if Bill Clinton and George Bush each managed to visit Africa twice
while in office, why can't Obama emulate them before 2016 - assuming the
Ghana-Egypt tours don't count?
