Commentary (by Rasna Warah) - We cannot lay claims on Obama; he’s not one of us

Ref: http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=25&newsid=124946

Story by RASNA WARAH
Publication Date: 6/9/2008

MEDIA SPACE AND attention accorded to the victory of Barack Obama as the Democratic Party presidential nominee makes me wonder whether the Kenyan media has taken “Obamamania” a bit too far.

It is as if this United States senator with Kenyan roots was vying for the Kenyan presidency, not the presidency of a nation thousands of kilometres away.

Many news channels and newspapers, including this one, were quick to claim him as “a son of Kenya” who, if he became the US president, could change the fortunes of Kenyans, including that of his relatives in the sleepy Nyang’oma Kogelo Village in Siaya District.

Thankfully, his relatives have no illusions about what an Obama presidency would mean for the village: his elder half-brother, Malik Obong’o, told the Nation that he expected no change in his lifestyle, except maybe increased attention from local and foreign journalists.

What everyone seems to be forgetting is that Barack Obama is an American, not a Kenyan. His roots may lie in Kenya, but he was born and raised in the United States, and his loyalty lies with that nation, not with ours.

This was evident even when he visited Kenya in August 2006 and addressed a packed University of Nairobi auditorium.

Then, he spoke to Kenyans, not as fellow citizens, but as an ambassador for the United States of America keen to develop what he called “a partnership” with Kenya.

“As a US Senator,” he stated in his speech, “my country and other nations have an obligation and self-interest in being full partners with Kenya and Africa. And I will do my part to shape an intelligent foreign policy that promotes peace and prosperity.”

What can Kenyans expect from Obama’s foreign policy towards Africa when or if he becomes president? More aid? Maybe. More vocal pronouncement against human rights abuses and corruption?

Probably. Less focus on anti-terrorism legislation and more on issues of social justice? I certainly hope so.

But in all these, Obama’s views will represent those of his government, not those of Kenyans.

His ties to Kenya are sentimental because of his history, but not for one moment must we think that he is “our president in America” or that he will be representing the people of Luo-Nyanza while sitting in the Oval Office.

Besides, his links to Kenya were laid on a shaky foundation. His parents were separated when he was just a toddler. His father, who returned to Kenya, met him only once after that, when Obama was a young boy.

IT WAS OBAMA’S CURIOSITY ABOUT his roots that brought him to Kenya as a young man in his 20s, not deep love for this country, and it was this visit that prompted him to write his much-acclaimed book, Dreams From my Father.

Kenya did not create Obama; his unique history and his life choices made him who he is and led him towards the path of the US presidency.

Prof Wambui Mwangi, a Kenyan who teaches political science at the University of Toronto, wrote recently: “One of the things that bemuses me about the Obamamania in Kenyans is our capacity to overlook the fact that his parents’ relationship (i.e. our claim to him) was less than splendid, and Obama senior gave up his rights to his son, one way or another.

‘‘Kenya didn’t do so well for Barack Obama — why on earth do we think he is ‘ours’? It would be nice if we fixed our own hypothesised democracy, instead of celebrating the democratic victories of others as if they will put more ugali into our sufurias.”

Which is not to say that I don’t think that Obama, if elected, will be the best president the United States has seen in decades. He is, above all, honest and intelligent, two qualities that have endeared him to US voters and made him the darling of the press.

He thinks before he speaks and exudes a genuine interest in the welfare of human beings, regardless of race, sex or ethnic background.

He writes beautifully, with depth and emotion. To top it all, he is good looking and has a healthy and loving relationship with his wife and two daughters. If I were American, I’d vote for him without the slightest hesitation.

But more importantly, he has broken the ceiling that limited the aspirations of black people in America, by showing that it is possible, regardless of race, to seek the top job in the country.

His name, along with that of his rival Hillary Clinton, is guaranteed in history books regardless of whether he wins or loses.

For all these reasons, we should be glad that there is an Obama in this world.

But we must get over the illusion that his ascent to the most powerful political office in the world has anything to do with us.

Ms Warah is an editor with the UN. The views expressed here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations. (grasp@nbi.ispkenya.com)