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Daily Independent (Lagos)

Nigeria: Obama - Black Cinderella, New Dawn And Antichrist (Two)

Tiko Emmanuel Okoye

19 November 2008

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opinion

What propelled Obama's fairytale victory? Firstly, he refused to give the cold shoulder treatment to the Clintons, opting instead to smoke a peace pipe with Hilary. He understood the make-or-mar importance of the combined electoral votes of California (55), New York (31), Pennsylvania (21), Ohio (20), New Jersey (15), Massachusetts (12), and Florida (27). Hilary had given him a good hiding in the primaries in the first six and 'won' the last in an annulled poll. Winning these seven states alone (out of 50) would mean having a whopping 181 electoral votes in the kitty (an awesome 67 percent of the 270 votes needed for outright victory)!

Unlike in the primaries when he depended on the outback largely-rural states to undo Hilary, he played smart in the main event and went for the populous states. As an aside, is anybody still wondering how and why Obama struck rich veins of votes in the populous states of the Northeast and West coast where Hillary took him to the cleaners in the primaries and lost badly in broad swathes of the so-called Bible belt (Deep South) and the Midwestern states where his victory over Hilary was in double digits?

Obama ran one of the tightest presidential campaigns in U.S. history. There were no major gaffes from start to finish. Even when the trappings of crisis brewed - such as the Rev. Wright case - he comported himself with great aplomb. He must also be applauded for running a creative campaign that brought out young voters. 2008 was the year they finally turned up at polling booths and it was fortuitously in Obama's favor! His credible slogan of change and inclusiveness gave a new dimension to the process as he was able to forge a new majority out of marginalized minorities. Rev. Jesse Jackson's dream of a rainbow coalition found true expression in Obama as he became the indubitable symbol of lots of people without a hope and a voice. From having very few endorsements and limited financial resources he made history by becoming the first major party presidential candidate to reject federal money since the public campaign-funding system was instituted in 1976.

McCain also ran a commendable campaign. He made what initially seemed like solid strategic choices such as picking Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate which was designed to fire up the conservative base and garner women voters still very bitter about what they perceived as unfair and humiliating treatment of Hilary by the press and the Obama campaign team. But in the end, just as in 1992, it boiled down to "It's the economy, stupid!" as the financial meltdown shoved security and Republican Party likely memorable spouts to the back corner.

The presidential poll was more of a referendum on President Bush than an election between two opposing candidates. Obama cleverly boxed McCain into a hole early in the game. If McCain denounced Bush it'll be confirmation that the Republican Party had failed and if he didn't he would be seen to be espousing the same failed policies - a clear case of heads you lose and tails you fail! By the time McCain realized he was about to have a head-on collision with a moving train and decided to distance himself from the beleaguered president it was too little too late. Be that as it may, McCain won in 22 states of the 50 states in America, which exactly isn't the rout a wide disparity in the popular and Electoral College votes would suggest.

All the signs clearly indicated a candidacy dead on arrival ('wrong' race, Muslim middle name and heritage, first-generation American, lack of cognate experience, etc) but when God is on your side, all things (both good and bad) work together in your favor. Suddenly, what seemed like Solomonic wisdom in the choice of Sarah Palin degenerated into the spurned counsel of Ahithophel not to mention the financial crisis that convulsed the American economy - a real lucky break for Obama because when push turned to shove many voters decided in favor of a clean break with Republican Party policies.

Obama has the potential to be a great American leader. His landmark victory means Americans have clearly opted for a change. He has an overwhelming Democratic Party majority in Congress to push through his campaign promises (although his policy somersault on the Iranian nuclear program from pre-election "constructive engagement without preconditions" to post-election "unacceptable" looks like "more of the same failed policies" to me). Whether or not Obama ultimately proves to be an Uncle Tom - a 'domesticated' black man (or what Italian PM Berlusconi caricatures as a white man with suntan), his victory is bound to energize black and Latino youths into becoming masters of their own destinies.

The current fad is to rant about "useful lessons" Nigeria and the rest of Africa can learn from the U.S. election. Count me out of this unprofitable exercise. Before Obama happened, Nigerians of every creed, tribe and zone had given a riveting thumbs-up to the unusual MKO/Kingibe Muslim-Muslim ticket and the likes of Jerry Rawlings' Ghana and Mathieu Kerekou/Nicephore Soglo/Boni Yayi's Benin Republic showed the world that Africa could conduct credible elections in which opposition candidates defeat government parties while the likes of Olusegun Obasanjo/Umaru Yar'Adua's Nigeria, Mwai Kibaki's Kenya and Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe have gone in the opposite direction. Those who've gotten it right will continue to get better while those adept at conducting shambolic elections will continue to wallow in their sins - Obama or no Obama! But think of this: How come it was far easier for a Luo (an ethnic minority in Kenya) like Obama to pass through the eye of the needle to occupy the most powerful political post in the world than the presidential mansion in Nairobi?

Prophet Bob Marley long ago predicted that the dream of "world citizenship" would manifest when racial bigotry is overcome and the Bible says that the antichrist will arise in the wake of a phantom world peace. Is the supernatural emergence of Obama a fulfillment of end-time prophecies - because apart from being a president for all Americans, Obama is also the undisputed 'World President' - considering the spontaneous jubilation his victory sparked off around the world? Is it possible for the antichrist to be a black man? What do you think?

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