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Nigeria: Why Obama Couldn't Lick Okonjo's Fingers
allAfrica
Emmanuel Nathan Oguche
4/27/2012
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive; who still questions the power of democracy, tonight is your answer."
This was the first paragraph of the momentous Barack Obama's victory speech. This has been brought to fore because of the madness Africans and the entire black race displayed during the Barrack Obama's campaign as if his emergence would bring an end to the socio-economic, religious, political and ethnic turmoil that has plagued the African continent and placed her at the back row of development.
If there is anyone who thinks that when a black man or woman is elected as American president (as in the case of Obama) or to occupy any of the US agent of exploitation (if Okonjo-Iweala were elected president of the World Bank), the fortune of Africa and developing countries would change, then that person must be many centuries behind.
Has Obama forgotten so soon that Africans and indeed the entire black race stood by him during his campaign? During the 2008 historic US elections, many Africans wished they were Americans so that they could cast a sympathy vote for a fellow brother in order to show to the world that what a white man can do, black man can do even better. Though the Obama's victory purged African race of the stigma of slavery and subjugation, but it obvious that Americans voted for Obama because they knew he would preserve the American hegemonic interest, and Obama is not disappointing them. Now the foolishness of Africans has become glaring as they are now left to fend for ourselves instead of waiting for miracle to come from America.
During Barrack Obama's campaign, in Nigeria, just like in other African countries, prayer sessions and vigils were organised, assorted candles were burnt, many people painted their vehicles with Obama campaign stickers in the name of brotherhood and to show solidarity with a fellow black; 'YES WE CAN' slogan was highly ubiquitous. It is hard to forget how Hon. Adelabu Onibiyo, a Lagos legislator established Obama Nigeria Initiative to lend moral support to Obama's campaign. Many have not forgotten Monday, August 11, 2008 at the Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre Lagos, when the then goddess of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Dr. Ndidi Okereke-Anyuike, as the chairperson of the Africans for Obama 2008, vigorously arranged what was initially a fundraising dinner and gathered over N100 million. We still remember Okereke's arrogance portrayed in the media when the controversial fundraising, as expected, caused a lot of uproar in the country. This was what she told her critics: "Some sceptical people have been writing nonsense and rubbish in the newspapers that what is my business with Obama. But they are free to continue to write petitions. It is not their money that we are spending. Ask them is it your money that we are spending?" May be she thought that when Obama becomes the American president, being an African, Obama would have no choice than to lick her fingers; Obama should have appointed her to sit at the apex of the famous New York Stock Exchange!
(bold emphasis added)
Though in an African society, no matter how filthy your fingers are, you will never give it to another man to help you lick it; this cannot be said of American society. The culture of communalism is painfully ingrained on the consciousness of African and this often compels them to lick their brother's fingers even if the fingers are excruciatingly grubby and filthy. Americans, will only lick the fingers of those that will preserve the dreams of their forefathers, the dream of dominating and controlling the world's economy, and never to be subservient to it. If Obama, an African American of Luo (Kenya) extraction actually had true African blood flowing in his veins, he would have endorsed Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala instead of licking the fingers of Jim Yong Kim, the Korean-born American medical doctor and consultant to World Health Organisation, the man considered by both foreign and local media to be less qualified than Okonjo-Iweala. But Obama could not have licked Iweala's fingers because World Bank is of the United States of America and the American interest supersedes the sacredness of brotherhood.
Though Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had promised to use her managerial acumen to built "an institution that is swifter and nimbler, to combine the strength of the World Bank group to help developing countries create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths; a World Bank that can deploy its huge financial and material resources to confront unemployment in emerging markets and less developed countries." Would America, Obama and other World Bank staunch men believe in such fable when they know that one of the major challenges facing the Nigerian youth today is unemployment? America is too wise to believe in such folklore.
In the United States of America, foreign and policies are determined largely by the military-industrial complex and less fashioned, designed and pursued to preserve regional, religious, ethnic and political parties' interests. American Barack Obama cannot reinvent this age long tradition. Africans thought that when Obama becomes US president, he would make Africa his first constituency. Africans also thought that Obama would compromise the American national interest for the sake of brotherhood. Africans were so myopic that Obama would lick their fingers just the manner they licked his during his campaign. Africans were wrong.
In Africa, it is not a myth that when your brother becomes president, governor or even local government chairman, your village which hitherto lacked the presence of government would quickly be transformed to become the economic hub of the state; the job which you have been searching for, you will surely get it even without being interviewed and your village that can hardly boast of a mud house as worship centre would soon have another National Ecumenical Centre! As a Nigerian, check around your communities, the most beautiful villages and towns are the homes of ex-presidents, governors and local government chairmen. In Africa, presidents, governors, ministers and local government chairmen have many times failed but they hardly fail members of their family, villages or their state.
But what does Africans and developing nations stand to gain if Okonjo-Iweala had become World Bank President? Would she shift the headquarters from Washington (America) to Abuja, Accra, Addis Ababa or Pretoria, Ota, or Otuoke? Would World Bank henceforth become friendlier to African continent and other developing countries? Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, though a Nigerian but having received training in America, worked and lived there more than she has in Nigeria, it would amount to a misunderstood truth if she gets there things will get better for Nigeria and Africa. Would Nigeria's foreign debt be written off completely without any stringent conditionality? Let us not forget, World Bank, like any financial institution, has its own shareholders and its major shares are owned by the developed countries.
View the complete article at:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201204270150.html
allAfrica
Emmanuel Nathan Oguche
4/27/2012
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive; who still questions the power of democracy, tonight is your answer."
This was the first paragraph of the momentous Barack Obama's victory speech. This has been brought to fore because of the madness Africans and the entire black race displayed during the Barrack Obama's campaign as if his emergence would bring an end to the socio-economic, religious, political and ethnic turmoil that has plagued the African continent and placed her at the back row of development.
If there is anyone who thinks that when a black man or woman is elected as American president (as in the case of Obama) or to occupy any of the US agent of exploitation (if Okonjo-Iweala were elected president of the World Bank), the fortune of Africa and developing countries would change, then that person must be many centuries behind.
Has Obama forgotten so soon that Africans and indeed the entire black race stood by him during his campaign? During the 2008 historic US elections, many Africans wished they were Americans so that they could cast a sympathy vote for a fellow brother in order to show to the world that what a white man can do, black man can do even better. Though the Obama's victory purged African race of the stigma of slavery and subjugation, but it obvious that Americans voted for Obama because they knew he would preserve the American hegemonic interest, and Obama is not disappointing them. Now the foolishness of Africans has become glaring as they are now left to fend for ourselves instead of waiting for miracle to come from America.
During Barrack Obama's campaign, in Nigeria, just like in other African countries, prayer sessions and vigils were organised, assorted candles were burnt, many people painted their vehicles with Obama campaign stickers in the name of brotherhood and to show solidarity with a fellow black; 'YES WE CAN' slogan was highly ubiquitous. It is hard to forget how Hon. Adelabu Onibiyo, a Lagos legislator established Obama Nigeria Initiative to lend moral support to Obama's campaign. Many have not forgotten Monday, August 11, 2008 at the Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre Lagos, when the then goddess of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Dr. Ndidi Okereke-Anyuike, as the chairperson of the Africans for Obama 2008, vigorously arranged what was initially a fundraising dinner and gathered over N100 million. We still remember Okereke's arrogance portrayed in the media when the controversial fundraising, as expected, caused a lot of uproar in the country. This was what she told her critics: "Some sceptical people have been writing nonsense and rubbish in the newspapers that what is my business with Obama. But they are free to continue to write petitions. It is not their money that we are spending. Ask them is it your money that we are spending?" May be she thought that when Obama becomes the American president, being an African, Obama would have no choice than to lick her fingers; Obama should have appointed her to sit at the apex of the famous New York Stock Exchange!
(bold emphasis added)
Though in an African society, no matter how filthy your fingers are, you will never give it to another man to help you lick it; this cannot be said of American society. The culture of communalism is painfully ingrained on the consciousness of African and this often compels them to lick their brother's fingers even if the fingers are excruciatingly grubby and filthy. Americans, will only lick the fingers of those that will preserve the dreams of their forefathers, the dream of dominating and controlling the world's economy, and never to be subservient to it. If Obama, an African American of Luo (Kenya) extraction actually had true African blood flowing in his veins, he would have endorsed Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala instead of licking the fingers of Jim Yong Kim, the Korean-born American medical doctor and consultant to World Health Organisation, the man considered by both foreign and local media to be less qualified than Okonjo-Iweala. But Obama could not have licked Iweala's fingers because World Bank is of the United States of America and the American interest supersedes the sacredness of brotherhood.
Though Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had promised to use her managerial acumen to built "an institution that is swifter and nimbler, to combine the strength of the World Bank group to help developing countries create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths; a World Bank that can deploy its huge financial and material resources to confront unemployment in emerging markets and less developed countries." Would America, Obama and other World Bank staunch men believe in such fable when they know that one of the major challenges facing the Nigerian youth today is unemployment? America is too wise to believe in such folklore.
In the United States of America, foreign and policies are determined largely by the military-industrial complex and less fashioned, designed and pursued to preserve regional, religious, ethnic and political parties' interests. American Barack Obama cannot reinvent this age long tradition. Africans thought that when Obama becomes US president, he would make Africa his first constituency. Africans also thought that Obama would compromise the American national interest for the sake of brotherhood. Africans were so myopic that Obama would lick their fingers just the manner they licked his during his campaign. Africans were wrong.
In Africa, it is not a myth that when your brother becomes president, governor or even local government chairman, your village which hitherto lacked the presence of government would quickly be transformed to become the economic hub of the state; the job which you have been searching for, you will surely get it even without being interviewed and your village that can hardly boast of a mud house as worship centre would soon have another National Ecumenical Centre! As a Nigerian, check around your communities, the most beautiful villages and towns are the homes of ex-presidents, governors and local government chairmen. In Africa, presidents, governors, ministers and local government chairmen have many times failed but they hardly fail members of their family, villages or their state.
But what does Africans and developing nations stand to gain if Okonjo-Iweala had become World Bank President? Would she shift the headquarters from Washington (America) to Abuja, Accra, Addis Ababa or Pretoria, Ota, or Otuoke? Would World Bank henceforth become friendlier to African continent and other developing countries? Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, though a Nigerian but having received training in America, worked and lived there more than she has in Nigeria, it would amount to a misunderstood truth if she gets there things will get better for Nigeria and Africa. Would Nigeria's foreign debt be written off completely without any stringent conditionality? Let us not forget, World Bank, like any financial institution, has its own shareholders and its major shares are owned by the developed countries.
View the complete article at:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201204270150.html