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Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Kenya: What Should We Expect From a President Obama?

Maina Kiai

11 November 2008

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Boston — President Barack Obama: I don't think it's quite sunk in - the enormity and significance of the historic achievement.

This singular event, for me, is similar to February 1990 when Nelson Mandela was finally released from jail after 27 years; 27 years in which millions of people across the world had campaigned for his release and he symbolized principle, fortitude, integrity, and courage for all of us lesser mortals.

And so too with Barack Obama. It is easily forgotten that a year to the date he was elected President, Barack Obama was not a household name in the US or in the rest of the world, except for Illinois and Kenya. But the way he has handled himself, cannot be understated. He came from 30 percentage points behind Hillary Clinton to clinch the Democratic Party nomination and to win the Presidency in a landslide. Over the last year he has come to symbolize our hopes and aspirations; a spirit of "can do" attitude. He has become the hallmark of charisma, eloquence and brilliant organization. And shown what trusting the electorate can bring.

So what should we expect from this Kenyan export to the USA? Some have cautioned that perhaps it is best that expectations be lowered so as not to attract disappointment. I disagree strongly with that view. We should have nothing but the highest expectations for Barack Obama.

If Kenyan politics teaches us one thing, it's that lower expectations lead to poor leadership. They mean that when our leaders fail, we don't get angry and force them out or force them to change. Instead we laugh it off, shake our heads, and gossip about it in bars and homes, giving these "leaders" a free pass to continue what they do best: Taking care of their own interests in terms of personal enrichment or impunity. We can already see this in the explosion of corruption and in the rejection of the Waki Report. Because of the nature of his campaign, his words and the historicity of his achievement, we should hold Barack Obama to what he publicly said he would do.

His two books encapsulate who he is and what he stands for. "Dreams from my Father" shows us why he is the person he is, and "Audacity of Hope" tells us what he believes in. I doubt that any president ever before has put out such cogent analysis of both his character and beliefs before getting elected. One can also glean expectations from his public pronouncements, public life and the way he run his campaign for 21 long months.

First thing we need to make clear for all those Kenyans now claiming him: Barack Obama's father was a Kenyan but he himself is not Kenyan, much as we would wish him to be. Yes, he probably is the first American president to have been to Kenya, and studied African history and politics and issues before becoming President, but he is not a Kenyan: Kenya is where his father was from and where some of his relatives reside.

Second, for those of us with that annoying Kenyan habit of expecting freebies and gifts from leaders, let it be clear that he will not send uniforms, roads, schools and other goodies to Kenya anymore than to other countries as part of charity. Obama does not believe in patronage.

He believes in personal responsibility where people pull their weight and do what they can in the circumstances that they are in. Of course he understands that our circumstances are not easy, but he knows a "give me" beggarly attitude does not help. In fact, this cycle of patronage and begging, is probably one of the reasons that we have the leaders we have - if someone buys your vote or is sure to get it because of your ethnicity, why should they do things for you?

Now the good news. We won't get hand outs, but we can expect a far more pro-people approach from him towards those struggling to change their societies for the better. This is what he has done all his life, choosing politics as the vehicle for positive change after trying community organizing. He has not been afraid to ruffle feathers and in August 2006, then President Thabo Mbeki refused to see him when he visited South Africa because he made critical comments on the way the South African government was handling issues related to HIV-AIDS. And of course we all remember the bombastic response from our government when he spoke truth to power on the Kenya Government's inadequacies on corruption, ethnicity and respect for human rights!

We can expect a thoughtful approach to issues, but with steely determination. This is a man who knows himself and is comfortable in his skin. I reckon that had he lost the election, it would have hurt but not destroyed him. He does not need the job but feels that he can do something to change not just America but also the world. His tough side came out in the campaign when he cast aside his long time pastor Rev.

Jeremiah Wright when the good pastor refused to take a low profile as he was being used to tarnish Obama. We see a tough side in the appointment of Rahm Emmanuel as White House Chief of Staff who will surely be the bad cop to Obama's good cop and who is unafraid to call it as it is, often with language better suited to bars.

President Obama - how good that sounds! - is an idealistic realist. We should see quick action on issues that are relatively easy to deal with by the stroke of a pen. I expect that some of the Bush regime actions that have tarnished the human rights reputations of the US will end sooner rather than later. Thus renditions as we in Kenya have come to know them--with the connivance of our own security regime and including Kenyans-will be a thing of the past, as will torture and "water-boarding."

But let's be clear: President Obama was elected primarily on a domestic agenda and that is his priority. So for those in Kenya and Africa, it is best to learn from him, rather than expect to take from him. Kenyans: start taking charge of your own destiny and lives by challenging dishonest, corrupt and unaccountable political leadership. And if we stand up to be counted; stand up for positive change, show ourselves to be creative and resourceful, I am sure that President Obama will be there in support. What he gives us is an opportunity for change - but it is about us, not him, and we must face it as Africans head-on.

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