Obama’s win should make Africa stop & ponder
Right here in Africa we have our own Obamas, men and women who if you hear or read their thoughts you feel inspired to change all the wrongs in your nation. Such men and women if given the chance to realize their vision of Africa could change Africa to be a nation to reckon with.
All that Africa needs to do is discover such charismatic leaders and groom them to takeover leadership democratically at a later stage. But then Africa, being Africa instead of supporting such people so that they can bloom to their full potential feel threatened by them and so frustrate them or spread lies that undermine them. Usually the end result is such men of potential deciding to immigrate to other countries were their intelligence can be appreciated. This explains the brain-drain Africa experiences, year after year.
One such inspirational and charismatic leader whom we can compare to Obama is Jeremiah Kure; he is a professional working in the corporate governance arena, based in Johannesburg. He is the founder of the Heights We Must Climb movement and a firm believer in a progressive Africa; an Africa not tied to her stereotyped past but one that is steadily reclaiming her dignity and potential in the global space. He is 33 years old. Read more
What Obama means to Africa
Nothing could be more symbolic of Africa’s support for US President-elect Barack Obama than Kenya’s declaration of Nov. 5 as a national holiday in recognition of Obama’s ascendancy to power. But, if Africans expect Obama to dish out handouts, as some commentators in the continent have intimated, then they are clearly mistaken.
From the far flung villages of Kenya (the homeland of Obama’s father) to the cash strapped streets of Zimbabwe, Obama’s electoral victory wafted through the continent like a breath of fresh air, ushering in a new dialogue about identity, democracy and politics.
Because Obama is African by ancestry, it was always predictable that Africans would greatly celebrate his electoral win. However, it is nothing short of foolhardiness for African people to expect Obama to work miracles that will resolve the continent’s ills.
If anything, for Africa, Obama’s win must be strictly seen for what is: it’s merely symbolic. And in politics symbols do matter. Read more
Obama-nia for Africa
Barack Obama
First things first: (his brains aside) Barack Obama is handsome, cool, and energizing like a drop of dew on an October morn.
By ancestry, Obama is an African and it’s not far-fetched to say through him the ancestors have spoken with a voice that has resonated across the globe, rebranding the black image.
Just like me, my friend Innocent has been glued onto Obama’s presidential campaign.
We both know the twist and turns of the law professor cum US Senator cum presidential candidate’s campaign trail like our hidden souls.
“Obama is a shining star of our generation, and his rise has been nothing less than meteoric. He represents a line of great inspirational and transformational leaders like Nelson Mandela, and he’s making history right before our eyes,” says Innocent. Read more
Recalling Kwame Nkrumah
“Countrymen and women, the task ahead is great indeed, and heavy is the responsibility; and yet it is a noble and glorious challenge - a challenge which calls for the courage to dream, the courage to believe, the courage to dare, the courage to do, the courage to envision, the courage to fight, the courage to work, the courage to achieve - to achieve the highest excellencies and the fullest greatness of man. Dare we ask for more in life? ”
- Kwame Nkrumah, Address to the National Assembly. 12 June 1965
Mother of many
Yes, our tears stem
From your success
& your smiles
Are inspired
By our sickness,
But your nest
Must not be nourished
By the warm blood
Of my womb
& your breasts
Should not be fattened
By the flesh of sinless infants. Read more
