Obama leaves behind a symbolic legacy in Africa

ACCRA: It was always going to be hard for outgoing US President Barack Obama to live up to expectations in Africa.

Born to a Kenyan father who once herded goats, the first black US president was seen as Africa’s prodigal son who would understand the continent in a way white presidents never could.

Nelson Mandela said Obama’s historic victory was proof everyone should “dare to dream” and Africans gave the new president a hero’s welcome.

Six months after taking office in 2009, Obama travelled to Ghana to lay the foundations for future policies that emphasised responsibility and trade.

“Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions,” he said, referring to the countless leaders who cling to power and enrich themselves in countries where poverty is rampant.

The speech electrified the crowd but the thrill wore off. The trip was his last visit to Africa in his first term.

He took a different approach in his second term, launching his signature Africa initiative in 2013 after a visit to Robben Island, the apartheid-era prison outside Cape Town that held Mandela for more than 20 years.

His Power Africa programme to double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa was designed to bring governments and the private sector together.

“Obama changed aid to trade,” added Firsing, from the University of North Carolina.

Obama, who has said that one of his greatest achievements in office was “taking out” al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, also took the fight against rising extremism to Africa.

He ordered an expanded military presence against al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Mali, Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Shabab in Somalia.

The breakdown in Libya following the death of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 saw weapons and radicalised fighters spread across Africa.

“There clearly was a follow-on effect that was detrimental,” said the former head of US Africa Command, retired general Carter Ham, who led the initial military intervention against Gaddafi.

Tackling the threat was a priority for Obama, he said, adding: “I think he was genuinely concerned for stability and security in Africa.

Obama’s tenure has by no means been perfect.

His administration faced heavy criticism for supporting countries such as Ethiopia with poor human rights records.

Sometimes he misjudged the mood. Senegal cheered in 2013 when its president Macky Sall rebuffed Obama for hitting out at discrimination against gays.

And detractors say Power Africa is also falling short of its goals.

Obama is generally seen as having advanced US interests in Africa and deepened relationships, not least by continuing his predecessors’ flagship projects.

Bur arguably Obama’s most enduring legacy is his example.

“Having a leader like him has an important psychological effect on Africans,” said Mzukisi Qobo, associate professor of politics at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.

“Despite his weaknesses and shortcomings, there is a sense of pride in seeing someone like Obama.

“He seemed to have a more transcendental awareness of the challenges of the world rather than looking at it through a white Western lens.” — AFP

Obama changed aid to trade.

Scott Firsing