Nicholas Sengoba
4 November 2008
column
As has been the wont at every significant epoch in history, the racists, scaremongers and pessimists have been preaching the message of fear and hopelessness in the run up to today's historic election of the first Black US President, H.E Barack Hussein Obama II.
The diversionary tactic being employed is to ask a rather leading question as to what Africans will get out of an Obama presidency. To compound this, they point towards impossibilities like Obama opening the gates of the USA to Black immigrants and uprooting all the dictators on the African continent in the blink of an eye.
This trend is expected because the hallmark of colonialism was the infusion of a slavish and dependant mindset into the African. The one that some legendary mother goose from lands far and wide will come laden with material gifts as a panacea to our predicament.
Bob Marley in his hit; Redemption Songs, sang about the emancipation from "mental slavery" being a responsibility of the victim. Had he lived longer, he probably would have added one about "mental blindness."
Africa's depressing state, stems from the failure to visualise the priceless, intangible values that other people's experiences and events elsewhere offer us to enable us independently improve on our lives. Consequently, vast opportunities on the continent pass us by.
Yet, aliens within a short stay accumulate so much so that they end up loading it over the natives who spend most of their lives spewing out negative lamentations.
Most of what Obama has encountered on the journey to the White House and what he personifies is what Africa will need, to get on its feet; more than say increasing aid.
Chiefly, is the capacity to keep hope alive. That audacity of hope. People with hope, keep trying against all odds.
Obama hoped for the best as a man from a minority Black race would never do in a predominantly White society. He did not drown in self pity for the colour of his skin or for being a "reject" from a broken home.
In the face of adversity, Africans resign to their fate very early. The autocrats who misgovern this continent have benefited immensely from this attitude as many qualified people will not stand against them or turn out to register and vote them out of office, because they feel the result is a foregone conclusion.
Africa will amount to nothing without the positive mental attitude that people of the ilk of Barack Obama posses.
Secondly, the ability to conquer fear. Africa's arrogant dictators rule in perpetuity because of their knack to scare everyone into believing that they are insurmountable super humans only next to God.
They propagate embellished war stories and their dexterity to maim and kill. Obama conquered the fear of rejection of a Black man by White people in America. His journey demonstrates clearly that what distinguishes visions from empty dreams is simply the will to fearlessly act with purpose and focus.
Africa needs people who act out their vision and not the abundant hollow political preachers. Obama effort augments the adage that in life no situation is permanent.
In the US before the phenomenon called Obama, it was a given that racism leaves Black people without a chance or choice, especially at the presidential level. But as (James) Ngugi Wa Thiongo put it in Petals of Blood, "there is no night so long that it will not end in the light of day."
In the circumstances, instead of failing to try, Obama tried and exposed himself to failure, and the humiliation of being laughed out of the electoral process; the rest as they say is history.
Africans will have to learn that until you have failed it is not yet game down. Like the crumbling edifice that racism in America is giving way to a post-racial society, there is a new dawn across the barriers, awaiting this great continent; to be worked for in order to erase the shameful status quo.
Also associated with Obama's success is the role of society in realising change. Obama's earth-shaking fund-raising records attest to the fact that if a society wants change, individuals will collectively have to make sacrifices.
In Africa, there are many people who think that the quest for democracy will happen just like that; without their input. Many sit back and dream that an opposition leader like FDC's Kizza Besigye will single handedly fight for their rights without their moral or material contribution.
My greatest prayer is that President Obama gives Africa a huge dose of tough love. Cut out all the freebies and easy stuff and read to Africa from his very own script, which should sound something like "if I made it (on my own,) so can you!"
The way to the salvation of the African mind is to stop the baby-sitting and let us independently think ourselves through our predicament. We need to suffer a bit so as to rise to the challenge of asking those in charge to account for the family silver. GO, OBAMA, GO!
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
