Sections
DONATE
SUPPORT WWW.JOLLOFNEWS.COM
Account Login
What Obama’s ‘Political Earthquake’ Means For Africa
Thursday, 30 June 2011 21:59
By Alagi Yorro JallowIn 2010, seventeen countries in Sub-Saharan Africa celebrated the 50th anniversary of their independence. In honor of the celebrations, President Obama recently hosted a meeting at the White House with young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa. The young leaders shared their thoughts about youth empowerment, good governance, and economic opportunity and discussed their hopes for the future.
President Obama’s election as the 44th president of the United States was” a political earthquake, and one whose tremors will be felt strongly in Africa”, writes Nill Akuetteh, Africa policy analyst and founder of Democracy and Conflict Research Institute. The victory was that stupendous. President George Bush gave strong support for democracy in Africa. Akuetteh asked, ‘Will President Bush’s enthusiasm be matched by Obama, or will Obama perhaps be even able to understand the problems of Africa and push for democracy more effectively on the continent?
If African governments must adhere to good governance and human rights practices and strive in other ways to become democratic, what policies should the Obama administration pursue to encourage African leaders? Should Obama continue President Bush’s freedom agenda in Africa? How should he handle US/Africa foreign policy?
President George W. Bush promoted democracy in Africa more loudly and persistently than his predecessors. He stated that democracy in Africa was his top foreign policy priority. His second inaugural address was devoted to the “freedom agenda. “All who live in tyranny and hopelessness,” Bush proclaimed, “can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.”
Implicit in President Bush’s words was a departure from the longstanding US policy of supporting dictators while opposing those with greater democratic credentials. For more than 60 years, especially during the Cold War, US presidents sacrificed democracy and propped up “friendly tyrants” who claimed to be anti-communist. Julius Nyerere, Patrice Lumumba, Amilcar Cabral, and even the saintly Nelson Mandela were considered bad communist sympathizers and African dictators such as Jomo Kenyatta, Mohammed Said Barre, Samuel Doe, and Mobutu Sese Seko were supported.
However, the Bush administration did not go far enough. It remained friendly to notorious African dictators, such as Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Yoweri Museveni in Uganda, Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia, Idriss Deby in Chad, and Muammar Gadhafi in Libya. Even Sudan’s Omar al Bashir, who committed genocide, was spared Washington’s full wrath because he was assisting in Iraq and with the President’s “war on terror.”
An old saying in The Gambia –“No matter how much one hates a dog,one must admit it has white teeth.”-Despite the fact that Bush sometimes supported African leaders who did not practice democracy and good governance, Bush’s Africa policy was a success, he promoted aid for fighting HIV/AIDS and malaria. President Bush further pushed the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and other programmmes as part of his Africa policy. There were other provisions in the Bush Africa policy that became successful, such as his trade and investment policy, his development policy, especially the promotion of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Africom, military training in the Sahel and in East Africa, the war on terrorism, and his tireless promotion of democracy. His health program has also been very successful in Africa.
President Obama could achieve lasting change by both supporting democracy and refusing to support leaders who impede it. He should maintain President Bush’s rhetorical support for democracy in Africa while winding down relations with dictators in Libya, Sudan, The Gambia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Egypt and Equatorial Guinea. He should convey to African leaders that adhering to good governance and human rights policies is the price he demands for friendly relations with his administration.
Democracy promotion should also be President Obama’s vehicle for achieving other African policy goals, such as expanding bilateral trade and investment, improving health and education, reducing poverty and preventing conflict. The recent White House meeting with young African leaders was a step in the right direction.
Jollofnews Poll
Who do you think should be the next President of The Gambia?
Follow us on Twitter
-
Warsi fails to reveal rent incomeThe co-chair of the conservative party, Baroness Sayeeda Wasri, admits not fully declaring rental income...
-
Egypt candidate to seek election suspension: lawyerCAIRO (Reuters) - Leftist candidate Hamdeen Sabahy will file an appeal for Egypt's presidential election...
-
Bristol Rovers Speed Merchant Could Be Racing To Posh(GamSports) – Peterborough United are thought to be one of a number of Championship sides...