The Man of the Century.
Kenya
His family roots aside, Obama owes Kenya and Kenyans nothing. Of course there are various expectations that are legitimately placed on his head as the leader of the free world, and on that end, he is expected to deliver on his promises, but only as far as foreign policy and world peace and security is concerned. And to that end, Kenya becomes one of the many countries that expects relations to improve with the US, but we should not expect any special priviledges or handouts because a Kenyan planted his seed in the US over 4 decades ago.
Now, I am writing this because I have heard and had enough. Kenyans are now walking with an extra bounce in their steps, which is Ok as far as being proud that Obama won. But thinking and even expecting that Kenya will be the 51st state of the US in terms of what Obama will do for “his” country is just naive, if not stupid. I hear Kenyans being intervied on TV say the most outrageous things that they expect to happen from now henceforth, and I wonder to myself, are we that naive? Or maybe this should be the measure of our desperation. We want to reap the rewards of a country we have no stake in.
Our political elite, and us who followed them tore this country apart earlier this year. That Obama is even a product of this country should make us cower in shame for he is a stark contrast to our politics and political ideology. When Obama cut his links with reverend Wright in the US, he should have done the same with Kenya’s kind of politics. He ran an inclusive campaign that sought to go across party divides and traditional alliances. On the other hand, Kenyans retreated to their tribal roots and ran the most divisive campaigns that took us to the brink of war. As Mccain and the republicans contemplate why they lost, Kenyans should also do some introspection, and wonder if Obama really deserves to be associated with us, given our history of election violence and divisive politics.
Lastly, we are demanding and expecting from an Obama presidency what we should be asking from our own elected “leaders.” Obama was not voted by in by Kenyans, except those who are now American citizens. He owes the American electorate who voted him in, the promises he made during his campaign. He owes Kenya nothing, nothing, nothing at all. Why the hell do we expect so much from him yet we have our own politicians who we should be holding acccountable. And in typical Kenyan fashion, the same politicians who should be working for our betterment are at the helm, giving interviews and saying what they expect from Obama.
I doubt that we have learnt anything at all from the Obama victory. I was told that, to criticize without offering an alternative is just complaining. And therefore, my take on this issue is this:
Obama has done everything he can do for Kenya, Blacks, and all other marginalized communities and people around the world, and that is to break the stereotypical barrier, by showing us that, “Yes We Can,” His duty to Kenya, Blacks, Hispanics, Iraq, Sudan, etc, was only meant to be symbolic, and as far as that goes, he has done his job. It is now up to us to follow suit and break the rest of the mental blockades and recessive attitudes that have held us back for so long.
Failure to understand this simple concept, and still expect goodies from Obama is what will continue to ensure that our ilk of politicians, (Corrupt, tribal, Stupid, Erratic, Indisciplined, and selfish,) continue to hold our country ranson to the highest bidder, and I can bet you that those bidiing are not the common “mwananchi.”
