Obama: A son of Africa enters the White House

It is unbelievable. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois is being inaugurated today as the 44th President of the United States and the Nation’s first black Commander-in-Chief. His triumph is bound to usher in an era of profound political and social realignment not only in America but also throughout the entire world. Africa where he has his roots through his father is bound to witness profound changes too. Obama has dismantled various forms of barriers to become elected 44th President of United States of America. It is a well known fact that over the years in America many black people have tossed over the barriers to become firsts, but none of them have got anywhere closer to what Obama has achieved. Gen. Collin Powell and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made history but Obama’s White House entry is miles ahead in terms of gains. Obama’s decisive victory over Republican John McCain is a landmark in the country’s 232-year history, especially for the millions of African-Americans in the USA and even Africa who are now energized and inspired by his improbable presidency. For one, it gives Democrats control of Congress and the White House for the first time in 16 years. During his victory speech, Obama – the weight of his achievement reflecting on his face¬ – walked out on stage with his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, to a thunderous applause. ‘Because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment’, he said, ‘change has come to America’. And indeed the world too is not forgetting about Africa.And his compelling narrative his half-Kansan, half-Kenyan heritage, bi-national upbringing, and rousing call for a new dawn of politics often sucked oxygen away from his opponents. It is a well known fact the world over that Barack Obama is not just your average African –American. His dual heritage has given him what commentators refer to as ‘a 21st century vision that gives him a unique view of a complex time in which we live.’ Part of his propellants that has catapulted him to the global arena and into the White House emanate from his parents. From his mother Ann Dunham, according to his book, Dreams from My Father, he got honesty, fairness, straight talk and independent judgment while from his father – also named Barack Hussein Obama ¬– the ‘distant authority’ of his father, as the young Obama was told by his mum. Mum also told son that ‘dad had grown up poor, came from a poor country; how life had been hard……..he hadn’t cut corners, though, or played the angles.’ Thus New York Times reported that ‘Obama won not by playing the angles but by understanding the playing field’. Always the great communicator, Obama developed a virtual campaign that will go down in history as the most elaborate political machine ever assembled in modern day democracy. Testimony to this assertion is certified by the fact that Obama 2008 campaign raised over US$600 Million with contributions and hence solidarity with ‘Obamania’ coming from as small amounts as US$5. Obama, 47, first gained national exposure with his stirring speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, in which he issued his now-famous call for the country to move beyond the political and cultural divisions that had split America into ‘red states’ and ‘blue states’. At the time he was a little-known State Senator from Illinois, but that fall he was elected to the US Senate, becoming just the third African-American Senator since reconstruction. Obama’s star only gained intensity once he arrived in Washington, and he began to seriously consider the entreaties from many Democrats to run for the presidency. He formally launched his candidacy on a frigid day in Springfield, Illinois, on Feb. 10, 2007, casting his unfamiliarity with Washington as a political benefit. ‘I know I haven’t spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington’, Obama said in his announcement speech. ‘But I’ve been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change’. Obama went on to build his candidacy on that one simple word, ‘change’, while eventually fleshing out his soaring rhetoric with detailed proposals based on helping the middle class. He drew millions of new voters hungry for a new direction and fresh leadership, including record numbers of young people. Since defeating Hillary Clinton, now his Secretary of State, who had the backing of much of the Democratic establishment, he expanded his coalition to include other party constituencies as well as independents and moderate Republicans. Obama also built an unmatched grass-roots army of supporters and volunteers, in part through novel Internet networking and fund-raising tools that may have changed forever the way presidential campaigns will be run. Obama became the first presidential nominee to reject public financing, choosing instead to rely on his millions of donors. He had financial dominance in both the primaries and in the general election, allowing him to open hundreds of campaign offices across the country, blanket television nationwide with ads, and put resources wherever he wanted, including many traditionally Republican States. In conceding the election with a gracious and conciliatory speech, McCain recognized the historic significance of Obama’s achievement and offered his help. ‘Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country’, McCain said. And thus a son of Africa will today be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America. ojiwah@gmail.com