Obama and Africa: Understanding the Framework for President Obama’s Foreign Policy in Africa
With the election of Barack Obama on November 4th, 2008, January 2009 is expected to usher in a new direction in American -African relations because for the first time, an African American with an African father will be sworn in as next President of America. Barack Obama, whose father was of Luo heritage in Kenya, is expected to build on President George W Bush foreign policy on the continent. The response to Obama's election in Africa has been euphoric and met with celebration all over the continent. But the question is what it will mean for Africa, its people and its leaders. There is no doubt that President Obama will be informed by the legacy of the Clinton administration, the Bush policy in Africa, his own heritage and the involvement of many advisers with prior experience in Africa, prominent among them is Susan Rice, who is expected to become the national security adviser. Africa will surely be central to President Obama’s foreign policy interests.A review of Obama’s campaign promises offers an insight into what we should expect from his administration, According to Carina Rey, who in an opinion piece, on August 14th, 2008, in Pambazuka News, President Obama’s foreign policy in Africa, informed by his family ties to Kenya will provide him a greater personal connection to the continent and its people than any other American president before him. She also believes that Obama with the” most cosmopolitan upbringing of any president combined with his intellectual strength, eloquence, and ability to think outside of the box suggest that he will pursue a more diplomacy-oriented and judicious foreign policy in general. With regard to Africa, the simple fact that the continent is already on his radar further suggests we can expect him to have a greater hand in proactively crafting his administration's Africa agenda, rather than doing what most US presidents have done before him: neglect Africa except when the US's strategic interests are involved". Africa is an area of priority according to Obama's campaign website. To Ms Rey, “though Africa is featured on the list of Obama's top eight foreign policy priorities, which in descending order are: Ending the War in Iraq; Iran; Renewing American Diplomacy; Nuclear Weapons, Building a 21st Century Military ; Bipartisanship and Openness; Israel; and Africa”. It shows how important Africa is to Obama. According to his website, Barack Obama will also be engaged in, stopping the genocide in Darfur, ending the conflict in Congo, and bringing former Liberian president Charles Taylor to justice. He also promised to work with Congress to increase American investment in foreign assistance, to redress the lack of increase in development assistance in areas such as democracy building, the rule of law, judicial reform, the strengthening of parliaments, education and enhancing the entrepreneurial skills of men and women. Obama promises to spearhead an initiative to eliminate the global education deficit by establishing a Global Education Fund to help fill the financing gap for primary education in Africa and the developing world. He will also make the Millennium Development Goals America's goals. Another adviser to Barack Obama on Africa, Whitney W. Schneidman, in a guest column on allAfrica.com of September 29, 2008, sets out what President Obama's fundamental policy objectives for Africa in Africa would be. In the piece, he said Obama's African agenda is informed by the interest in his candidacy in the African Diaspora community which can be a game changer in voter drive and on election day. Obama's African initiative, according to him, is premised on the following facts: • Africans are the most educated immigrant group in the country. • African-born men and women have higher median earnings than all foreign-born men and women in the U.S. • Remittances from Africans in the diaspora are on the rise, estimated to be in excess of $4 to 6 billion per year. Nigerians, as one example, remit more than $3 billion per year. • There is great expectation in Africa from an Obama presidencyWith this in mind, Barack Obama will therefore pursue three fundamental objectives on the continent. • One is to accelerate Africa's integration into the global economy. • A second is to enhance the peace and security of African states. • And a third is to strengthen relationships with those governments, institutions and civil society organizations committed to deepening democracy, accountability and reducing poverty in Africa. According to Schneidman, President Obama will also pursue conflict resolutions in Darfur, Somalia, Eastern Congo, the Niger Delta in Nigeria and Zimbabwe. He will also sustain AFRICOM, the US military command for Africa to realize its potential, in cooperation with other U.S. agencies and regional partners, to promote peace, security, and stability on the continent. In addition Obama will create a Shared Security Partnership Program to build the infrastructure to deliver effective counter-terrorism training, and to create a strong foundation for coordinated action against al Qaeda and its affiliates in Africa .The program will provide assistance with information sharing, training, operations, border security, anti-corruption programs, technology and the targeting of terrorist financing. President Obama will also establish an Add Value to Agriculture Initiative (AVTA), to accelerate Africa's integration into the global economy and to expand prosperity on the continent, which will spur research and innovation aimed at partnering with land grant institutions, private philanthropies and businesses to promote higher yield seeds, better irrigation methods and affordable and safe fertilizers. With the believe that such an initiative will address issues related to food security, Barack Obama will strengthen the African Growth and Opportunity Act to ensure that African producers can access the U.S. market and will encourage more American companies to invest in Africa. He will also work with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to develop lending facilities to small and medium businesses, so that those companies under $5 million can become $10 and $20 million companies, creating new jobs, sustainable incomes and partners for American companies. President Obama also plan to work with Congress to address stagnation in the areas of democracy building, the rule of law, judicial reform, the strengthening of parliaments, education and enhancing the entrepreneurial skills of men and women, and to increase American investment in foreign assistance. He promises to spearhead an initiative to eliminate the global education deficit by establishing a Global Education Fund to help fill the financing gap for primary education in Africa and the developing world and make the Millennium Development Goals America's goals. He will surely provide a new vista to US-African relationship. However, the question will be whether it will match the level of expectations from the continent because of his African heritage.The demand and pressure of the current financial crisis at home and other areas of priorities around the world such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Middle East, North Korea will surely test his ability to devote time and energy to Africa. Given the domestic policy demands and the economic problems on the home-front and the peripherilization of Africa in American interest sphere, it may be difficult for President Obama to achieve all the lofty goals on his campaign website. The economy and the war against terror might also force his administration to limit his expenditure abroad and his African initiatives may be the first casualty of such a cut. President Obama may not realize this but he has a higher standard to meet than any other President's before him.
*Bamidele A.OjoProfessor of Political Science, School of Political & International Studies. Fairleigh Dickinson University. Nj USA.
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