Obama’s visit to Africa

I presume it is now stale news that our very own pride: the Black man who has defied all odds, surpassed even the wildest dreams of the oppressed black Americans, and the fruition of the turmoil’s of the great blacks in history, Barack “the pace-setter” Obama, has finally visited Africa: his supposed “home-continent”.

But He did not come to solicit with world powers, or bring aid to our “desperate” nations; rather he came to deliver “the speech of speeches,” a speech abundantly flowing with allusions to the corruption, and poltical instability of our great continent Africa. Indeed He visited only one country out of the fifty-something African countries. President Obama went to neither the great nations of Africa nor his “roots- Kenya”, rather he went to the tiny country called Ghana.

Trust Nigerians to live up to expectation: Talk about his boycott of our “important” country began. Rumors were flying all over the place, and the media had a field day. All sorts of comments were made: even the illiterate ones felt like they had some sort of imaginary bone to pick with President Obama. But wait, have we stopped to analyze the significance of his visit to a nation that was virtually unknown ten to fifteenyears ago? Have we caught ourselves and thought “Why would he ignore countries like Kenya, South Africa, and so on?” Have we stopped to read the implications of his actions? Well, I have.

Ghana Ghana Ghana: A nation blessed with productive, hardworking people filled with humility, justice and kindness, a nation which Nigeria still supplies electricity, has within a few years managed to transform its very obscure public image. Through Hard work and strong conviction, the leaders of this nation have managed to celebrate 10 years of stable democracy, years of stable electricity, and so on: A feat that no other African country, save South Africa, has managed to achieve. Even Obama applauded their perseverance, and determination to fight corruption, labeling them as “a model for other African countries to follow.” Our very own Nobel Laureate, The Professor Wole Soyinka, very publicly expressed his support of Obama’s choice, and then went on to lament (as usual) the deplorable state of our nation: the “Giant of Africa.” He even went as far saying that He would have “stoned” Obama if he had come here. Why lend support to a nation whose leaders are not willing to help it?

Within the last 7 years, political office holders in Nigeria have received (spent) over 100 billion dollars. This is a nation in which the political office holders dip their hands into treasury like it is their personal account. This is a country in which corruption is skyrocketing, and one has to be careful not to step on the wrong toes: this could cause a chain reaction of disastrous failures. This is a country where electricity is so erratic that the people have stopped complaining: Generators have become our means of surviving the stress of Nigerian life. This is a country where even the Local government chairman on assumption of office, changes his address from Number 250 ordinary street to Number 1 affluent close, and changes his car to the latest BMW model. We are a corrupt nation, and it is now so deeply entrenched in us that these atrocities are no longer committed in secret, but rather in broad daylight.

But there is hope, or is there? We are a unique nation, blessed with divine intelligence. We are smart, sharp, and know our stuff. Most of us excel in our chosen fields of study, bagging awards wherever we go, making giant strides in our fields. But all of us are being snatched up by companies in greener pastures, we are all mostly working abroad, and even those in Nigeria are looking for ways to leave Nigeria. My fear is that by the time we realize that Nigeria is not for us, but rather for our legacy (the youth), it may be too late to amend our ways.

Forgive me, I have digressed. What is my synopsis? It is only commonsensical that President Obama chose to visit with tiny Ghana, a country that if care is not taken, would dethrone Nigeria from its “Giant of Africa” position. Even he, in his speech, conceded that one of the reasons why he visited Ghana was because it had stable democracy, and was making giant strides. Nigerians in all parts of the world hear my plea: We must stand together and fight against our very own leaders who are devouring our resources. We must fight for Nigeria to become a better place for our legacy. We must unite!!! We must!

More power to your elbows, our very own Obama.

Sincerely,

Akolade